Black Sky
by Jeff the Kitty
Summary: An odd girl at the age of nine with a teasing attitude is said to contain a family heirloom that possesses unimaginable power, much to at least peak the Disciplinary Committee's Head Prefect's interest. However, what doesn't interest him, is being her babysitter...
1. Newly Appointed

Hey there! This is my first fanfiction, so I am bursting with excitement. I hope that you guys adore my little story.

Just so you know, the main character's name is Sora Kuroi (Kuroi is her first name since in Japan the surname is first)

NOTE: this takes place right before the Kokuyo Arc.

And for future reference: _Inferno _means Hell in Italian

By the way, POV tends to change a lot in the story. So sorry if that bothers you. I also apologize for any spelling and grammatical errors and if characters are a bit OOC.

I do not own anything of _Katekyo Hitman Reborn. _All rights go to the lovely and wonderful Akira Amano. I only own my characters such as Kuroi and any others I create.

* * *

[3_rd Person Limited: Sora Kuroi]_

The wind brushed through long, jet black hair of a young girl. Her uneven in length pigtails flowed with the wind. With her hands behind her back, she walked graciously across the grounds of Namimori Chuu with a small smile planted on her face. She observed her surroundings and spotted a group of two and followed.

"Neh, did you happen to do yesterday's math homework?" The brunette asked.

"Cheh, that math was too easy. Not even worth doing," The silver-head boasted, "Why, did you not do it, Juudaime?"

"No! It's just that I didn't quite understand it, hahaha," The scrawny brunette replied nervously.

"Yo Tsuna, Gokudera," A tall boy with spiky, black hair greeted.

"Goodmorning, Yamamoto," Tsuna greeted.

"Tch. Baseball-idiot." Gokudera insulted with disgust.

"G-Gokudera-kun.." Tsuna put on a face of disbelief, even though he should be used to Gokudera's attitude by now.

"Are you guys going to the roof for lunch?" Yamamoto asked happily, shrugging off Gokudera's insulting words.

"If I say no, will you leave?" Gokudera became more frustrated by the second.

"Yeah, we're going to the roof. You can come," Tsuna invited with a smile.

"Great!"

"Shut up, Baseball boy!"

As Kuroi watched them curiously, she contemplated why she was instructed to go to Nami~ Chuu. She only received a letter via mail. She did not know a person by the name of Reborn, the person who sent it. In the letter, she was told to head over to Nami~ Chuu and to seek out a person by the name of Sawada Tsunayoshi and to await with said person for further instructions. It also explained in a post script that if the person she is looking for does not comply, she must to tell said person that she was sent by Reborn and that if he doesn't listen, he'll be shot.

Seeing that her target was found, she followed the group up to the roof while keeping her distance. She did not go onto the roof. She watched through the ajar door and pondered how to go about greeting them. Kuroi was about to take a step out, when a deep, stern voice put her to a hault.

"Who are you?"

She turned around to see a tall (tall to her), menacing, teenaged male around the age of 16, looming over her threateningly. He had short black hair where the bangs were parted so that they would form a "V" shape. His eyes were of a steel color and were thin and narrowed due to his glaring. His black and red jacket hung over his shouldes. It possessed a red and gold arm banned attached by a safety pin on the left sleeve that read, "Disciplinary Committee". He was wearing a white dress shirt, black pants and black penny loafers. A scowl settled on his face.

"U-um..." She stared blankly at him, though, not out of fear, but out of being surprised.

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari Kyoya]_

Hibari narrowed his eyes even more (if that were possible), and asked again, "I don't like repeating myself: who are you?"

He analyzed her appearance; she was wearing a mint-green button up dress that went just passed her knees. The long sleeves were a little baggy and touched the base of her fingers. They had ribbon tied tightly around the wrists. At the end of the sleeves, lace encompassed the fabric. Under the dress, was another layer of white fabric that was a little thicker than the outer layer. She wore black and white, stripped stockings underneath that covered her bare feet. Strangely enough, she wasn't wearing shoes. Her black hair was just as odd; it was put up in high twintails that were set closer toward the back of the head instead of at the sides. Her left twintail was shorter than the other; it reached down passed her shoulder, while her right reached down to her hips. Her eyes were exceedingly strange as well; they were a beautiful shade of gold with small red hints around the pupil and the outer rim of the iris.

Hibari didn't understand why there was a child running around in his school. All he knew was that he didn't want that, and her stalling to answer his question was not helping, so he took out his tonfas.

"If you don't answer me, I will bite you to death. Now, who are you and why are here?" Hibari took a step forward toward her, causing her to back up.

_[3rd Person Limited: Sora Kuroi]_

Kuroi backed up against the ajar door, and because of her weight being pushed against it, it flung open, allowing her to fall on her rear end. She winced and looked up at the unknown threat, whom of which just lowered his tonfas and gave her a dissatisfied look.

"Nah~ H-Hibari-san!?"

Kuroi's eyes widened, and she shot her sight over to the three that she was going to talk to.

"Eh? Who's she!?" Tsuna pointed at her as if he were pointing out a rat in a restaurant. (That sounds worse than what it really is XD)

"Awe, she's cute," Yamamoto started walking toward Kuroi.

She wasn't sure how to respond, so she got up and backtracked. However, she forgot that Hibari was still behind her, so she bumped into him. Out of shock, she turned around abruptly and backed up again. Unfortunately, she lost her balance again and fell backwards. However, instead of falling on the floor, two arms halted her fall.

"What's that girl's problem..?" Gokudera scratched the back of his head.

"You're a bit clumsy, aren't you?" Yamamoto smiled as he held her gently in his arms.

Out of shock, Kuroi didn't answer. She merely stared at him.

"A~re? Where are your shoes?" He asked her.

"...Uh..." She still did not answer.

"Tch. Stupid girl.." Gokudera did not seem impressed.

"So.. What's your name?" Tsuna asked as he approached her and Yamamoto.

"... Hnn... S-...S-Sora.. Kuroi..." She was baffled by all of the attention she was recieving.

"Eeehh? 'Kuroi', that's a cute name," Yamamoto grinned at her.

"So.. Um... Why are you here, Sora-chan?" Tsuna knelt down beside her while Gokudera stood next to him.

"Oh! ... Um.." Kuroi rummaged through the pockets of her dress and then pulled out a folded up letter, "Here."

Tsuna took the paper and read it out loud, "'To Sora Kuroi, I understand that this may seem odd at first, but you are instructed to head to Namimori~Chuu and present yourself to my student, Sawada Tsunayoshi. You are to await with him for further instructions.

"P.S. If he does not comply, show him this letter and let him know that it was from Reborn and he will be shot if he does not follow directions,'- EEEHHHHH?! Reborn?! Why, Rebron?! -'Sincerely, Reborn'"

"R-Reborn-san is in on this?" Gokudera was entirely confused.

Everyone was surprised to see that a timid, strange, young girl was sent to them on behalf of Reborn.

"The kid? Really?" Yamamoto was just as surprised.

"The baby...?"

"Nah~ Hibari-san, you're still here!" Everyone forgot that Hibari was still there.

He only narrowed his glare at them even more and then shifted his gaze onto Kuroi, who then buried her face into Yamamoto's chest. She was unsure of how to react to all of the attention.

"So, what instructions was Reborn referring to?" Gokudera asked Tsuna.

"I'm not sure," Tsuna read over the letter again, "It doesn't say anywhere in the letter."

"Ciaossu." An unfamiliar voice to Kuroi greeted.

Everyone looked over toward the fence where the voice originated from. A baby wearing a black suit, a yellow pacifier and a fedora with chameleon on it was standing on the edge of the fence, smiling toward everyone.

"I see you made it here safely, Sora Kuroi," The baby directed his attention to Kuroi.

"Eh?" Her head perked up.

"I'm the one who sent the letter. My name is Reborn."

"Reborn!?" Tsuna exclaimed in shock.

"Reborn-san!" Gokudera was equally in shock.

"Oh, Kid," Yamamoto greeted with a smile.

"Baby," Hibari greeted in his own way.

"I see you've all met Kuroi as well, yes?" Reborn smirked.

"Uh.. Yeah.. About that; why is she here, anyway?" Tsuna asked.

"To put it bluntly, she needs protection." Reborn answered.

"Cheh. Why? What's so special about this brat?" Gokudera questioned with disgust.

"I would go into details, but I am not inclined to explain any further than what I'm about to say. You will learn, later on, what her significance to the Vongola is." Reborn's smile faded and he took on a more serious demeanor.

"Vongola?! She's a Vongola!?" Tsuna exclaimed.

"Not exactly."

"So what's so special about her?" Gokudera was growing irritated,

"I can't say specifically. Not right now. But she holds the key to great power and absolute destruction. That ring on her right hand is not just jewelry, it bestows unimaginable Hell by her will and her will only."

"WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed except for Hibari and Kuroi.

"I never saw a ring on her!" Tsuna started searching over her and pulled out her right hand.

"Huh, it must've been hidden under the sleeve of her dress," Yamamotot said.

Tsuna analyzed the ring on her hand. It was black with gold lining and vines. A red, spherical, transparent marble was settled on the top. Around the marble was the word _Inferno._

"Hn...?" Hibari became interested at looked over to her.

Kuroi's eyes just widened at the statement she heard. She didn't understand what the ring was, she just knew that it was a family heirloom given to her when her parents deceased.

"I can't tell you what that ring is. Not at the level you all are at right now. However, I will say that she is in danger of those who wish to harness her power to bring havoc upon this world, so that's why I ask of one of you to be her Guardian."

"Tch. As if I would. I'm not gonna babysit!" Gokudera declined.

"If you do, you'll prove to Tsuna how reliable you are."

"Nyah~! A-Alright... I'll do it..." He grumbled.

"Wait a minute. I don't think that's a good idea. Remember what happened last time when he was with Lambo?" Tsuna recalled.

"Nah~!"

"Oh.. True... But, even if I wanted to, I can't because of Baseball. We have a tournament coming up, so practices will get in the way of me being able to watch her." Yamamoto also declined.

"That's right... Aah.. What do I do? I already have Reborn, Fuuta, Lambo, I-Pin, and Bianchi, along with my mom at my house. I don't think we can take in anymore," Tsuna became conflicted and started scratching his head.

"So... Then that's leaves..."

Everyone looked over at Hibari.

Kuroi gazed at Hibari who stared back her.

"Hn?" Hibari turned his attention to the group staring at him, "What do you want?"

"Eh.. Um.. Hibari-san, could you... watch over Sora-chan?" Tsuna asked hesitantly.

"No."

"But you're the only person who can!"

"I don't have time to babysit weak herbivores." Hibari started for the exit.

"Hibari!"

"Hibari-san! Wait!"

He kept on walking.

"Oi, Hibari." Reborn called out for him.

Hibari stopped in his tracks and looked at Reborn, "Hn?"

"I'll owe you one if you do it." Reborn offered with a smirk.

"Oh? Is that all?"

"I know that you're interested in finding out what power she has in store. This should be a fun assignment for you. But not only does she have power, she also has speed and she's an unnaturally fast learner."

"So?"

"I'll fight you if you do it, then." Reborn went to is last resort.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Hmm.. An interesting offer.. Fine. I'll do it. However, if she gives me trouble, I will bite her to death." He then turned around and headed for the door.

"Oh, one more thing, Hibari."

Hibari stopped walking, but didn't turn around.

"She has no sense of fear." Reborn sneered.

Hibari smiled and walked on. When he got to the door, he opened it and looked at Kuroi.

"Neh, You. C'mon."

Kuroi perked her head up and looked at Reborn who gestured for her to go. She looked at Yamamoto, who released her from his grasp, and got up to turn to him.

"Thank you.. Yama.. moto-kun," She said respectfully and hugged him.

"You're welcome." He said with a smile.

Kuroi turned and jogged over to Hibari who was kind enough to hold the door open for her. Before she left she turned to everyone and said goodbye and went hastily through the doorway. Hibari looked over to Reborn and then closed the door.

_[3rd Person Omniscient]_

"So, what did you mean by her not having a sense of fear?" Gokudera asked Reborn.

"That's right! I forgot about that," Tsuna realized.

"... It's hard to explain.. But because of her power and her... 'significance', she is not prone to having a sense of fear. It'll all make sense in time." Reborn explained.

Everyone looked at each other.

"Well, I believe lunch is over. You should get to class and actually learn something, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn broke the silence.

"Reborn!"

"A~re? You know, I just remembered something..." Yamamoto said.

"What? That a rock is smarter than you?" Gokudera joked.

"No, not that. But... We could've had Sasagawa Senpai look after Kuroi-chan."

"..." Everyone was silent.

"Oh, well. Hibari's already got the job." Reborn smirked.

"I totally forgot about Onii-san..." Tsuna remembered.

"You know, I think Kuroi would rather be with that bastard, Hibari than with that boxing idiot." Gokudera added.

"Y-yeah..."

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari Kyoya]_

Hibari closed the door and looked at Kuroi who was waiting patiently by the stairs. He didn't know what to do with her, and he had a lot of work to get done. He decided to do his patrolling first, since he was already up. He didn't feel like going into the Reception Room to finish paperwork only to get back up and patrol the school when he was done.

Hibari kept is gaze on Kuroi as he passed her to go downstairs. She only looked at him, vacantly, in return. As he went down the steps, he could feel her following. He walked out onto the third floor and patrolled the halls, all the while being followed by a small girl.

He didn't find anything to bite to death on the third floor, so he moved on to the second. There, he found a couple students cutting class. He walked up to the students.

"Where is your pass, Herbivores?" He glared through them.

When the two students heard the familiar voice, they froze.

"Ah! H-Hibari-san!"

"Fuukinchou!"

The two boys were surprised to see him, especially with a little girl.

Hibari raised his tonfas, "Show me your passes or I'll bite you to death."

They were too scared to answer.

Hibari glared at them and then within a second, he attacked the two boys, beating them senseless. When he was done, he looked over at Kuroi who was, to his surprise, vacant in expression. She looked at him and then at the two motionless bodies. He watched her walk over to the bodies. She got on her knees and sat on her legs and poked one the bodies in the face. She observed the markings and bruises and then looked innocently at Hibari.

"You're strong," Was all she said.

She got up and walked over to him, "I can tell you like to fight. You enjoy it, but only when it's an exceptional opponent. That way you'd have a challenge."

Her statement surprised Hibari. He didn't expect her to say something like that, nor be able to walk up to him after witnessing a beating. She was so timid when she was up on the roof with everyone else.

"Why do you act so differently from before?" He asked her.

"Mmm... It was just overwhelming when I was up there. I just get overwhelmed when I'm in crowds. That's why at the orphanage, I spend most of my time up in this one big tree. It's the only place I can go that's not surrounded by people."

_'So, she doesn't like crowds and she's an orphan...'_ Hibari thought to himself.

"I guess you could say that I get a little clingy when I'm in crowds... Oh, by the way, what did that one guy mean by 'Fuukinchou'?" Kuroi asked with her head cocked to the side.

"I am in charge of Namimori~ Chuu's Disciplinary Committee." He simply stated.

"Cool." She said and then walked down the hall.

Hibari stared at her for a few seconds and then followed. The two headed outside to patrol, all the while Hibari was constantly being asked questions. Most of them had to do with Namimori~Chuu, but others, made him irritated. By the time they were done patrolling the outside, it was nearly time for passing period.

Hibari and Kuroi set off to the Reception Room. When they were on the second the floor, a bell went off on the intercom.

[DING DONG DING DONG]

Within seconds, the halls were flooded with people. This instantly made Hibari irritated. Though, he wasn't the only one upset. He looked back to Kuroi and noticed she was highly uncomfortable; she was stiff and motionless, her eyes were widened, she didn't speak and she appeared to not be breathing at all. She was a perfect statue.

There were many people staring at Kuroi, since they were unsure as to why there was a kid in a middle school in the first place. They also stared because they were unsure why her expression and posture was they it was. Then, some looked at Hibari and they instantly knew why: Hibari Kyoya was there and he was going to bite her to death. Or, at least, that's what they were thinking.

"Oh, no. Hibari is here..."

"Dude, is he gonna bite her to death?"

"She's just a little girl, though."

"Better her than us..."

"Hey, little girl, you should run!"

But, whatever the students said, there was no affect on Kuroi.

Hibari was about to just walk away, until he was stopped by someone.

"Oi, Hibari. You're supposed to take care of her. Just leaving her there like that isn't the best way to protect someone." Reborn chided.

Hibari narrowed his eyes and looked over at her. Reluctantly, he walked over to her. As soon as he reached her, everyone went silent and tension arose. Everyone was unsure as to what he would do. He looked down at her and she, still, remained motionless. He let out a small, agitated sigh and placed a hand on her shoulder. As soon as he touched her, everyone gasped and she flinched. He then ushered her to start walking. Murmurs were begginning to fill the air. After a couple of steps, he released her shoulder and they both kept walking. Hibari lead the way for her while the students departed to the sides of the hallway.

The minute bell went off and everybody started rushing to class. During the chaos, Hibari felt something tug at the back of his arm sleeve. He looked down to find Kuroi in a frantic state, clutching his arm sleeve in a grip so tight, her knuckles turned white.

Some people stood and gawked at the sight, bringing Hibari's annoyance level higher.

"Let go," He said sternly and irritably.

She did not move, however.

"Let go, now, or I'll bite you to death," He raised his free arm to show a tonfa.

She still did not move.

Hibari was becoming more and more frustrated. He was about to strike her when he realized that she has no sense of fear, so threats wouldn't do any good.

He decided to just ignore her and continue to the Reception Room. By the time they got there, class had already started. Kuroi seemed to have finally realized what she was doing and she immediately released Hibari from her grasp.

"I-I'm so sorry!" She bowed respectfully and stepped away from him.

He looked at her out of the corners of his eyes and spoke menacingly, "Don't ever do that again, Herbivore."

He retreated over to his desk and sat down to do his paperwork.

[3RD PERSON LIMITED: Sora Kuroi]

Kuroi was extremely hesitant to move. But, she managed to pull herself together to go sit down on the couch. After all of that walking, it seemed inviting after all. Kuroi gently sat down on the couch and looked at Hibari out of the corners of her eyes. He didn't seem to take any notice of her, so she thought that she was okay.

After a half an hour, she began to feel very drowsy, and since she was on the couch, she decided she should fall asleep. Besides, it would give Hibari some peace and quiet while he does his paperwork.

All the while, when trying to sleep, Kuroi constantly thought about what her ring meant and what power she possessed. She had no idea as to what the future might have in store for her.

With plenty of confusing, terrifying thoughts in mind, she fell asleep.

[END]

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed my first chapter. I will be posting up more as soon as possible. I will also be working on other stories as well, such as one-shots, drabbles, etc. please leave a review for me and let me know how far I should extend the story. (what arc I should continue to). I have read all of KHR, so all arcs in the manga are an option.

Arigatou! :D


	2. Being Playful

So I received one review on _Black Sky _and I must say that I am happy I have pleased you. I've read some other fanfic stories where the KHR characters are extremely OOC (out of character), and it bugs me. So I try my best to make characters act the way they are supposed to. So thanks for the nice review!

Just in case your are wondering, third person limited is different from third person omniscient. Limited is when the narrator knows the thoughts of only ONE character, while Omniscient is when the narrator knows the thoughts of ALL characters.

My other story, _Instability, _is being posted and updated faster because I have already written about five chapters a few weeks ago. But I will try to keep up with both stories don't worry_._

So now here is chapter 2!

I do not own anything of KHR. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for characters I have created.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Sora Kuroi]_

*WHAM*

The Reception Room door flung open abruptly, causing Kuroi to awaken with a fright. She was startled enough to the point where she fell off of the couch and onto the floor.

"Kyo-san!"

She turned her head toward the person who spoke. He had black hair that was swirled to the point where it looked like Elvis Presley's hairstyle, just dramatized. He was tall and he wore the same jacket that Hibari wore, except this person had his buttoned up, but not all the way. The top of his white undershirt remained visible.

"There have been more attacks on Namimori students. Few of which were attacks on some of the Disciplinary Committee members!" The new person rushed out his words urgently.

"...Hnnn..." Hibari grumbled. It appeared that Kuroi wasn't the only one who was sleeping.

"Do you know what happens to people who disturb my sleep, Kusakabe Tetsuya?" Hibari got up from the couch and armed himself with his tonfas.

Kusakabe held up his hands in defense, "I-I apologize, Kyo-san, but..."

"... I suppose since this is actually an important matter, I'll let it slide this once. I'll bite you to death some other time," Hibari lowered his tonfas.

Kuroi remained confused and fixated her sight onto Hibari. He only gave her a glare in return and returned his attention back to Kusakabe.

"Um.. Kyo-san, I don't mean to pry or anything-"

"Then don't."

"But- who is this girl? And where are her shoes?" Kusakabe gestured toward Kuroi.

"Eh?" Kuroi perked her head up.

"... A herbivore that is a hindrance," Hibari responded with little or no emotion at all.

Kuroi's expression became sullen. She looked over at Kusakabe and introduced herself, "My name is Sora Kuroi," she said with a smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kusakabe smiled back at her nervously, still unsure as to why she was there in the first place.

"Aa~ I'm Kusakabe Tetsuya. A pleasure to meet you, as well," He anxiously introduced himself and turned his attention to Hibari, "So, what shall we do, sir? Should we take action?"

"... Hmm..." Hibari remained distant. He was in a state analyzing his options.

"Kyo-san?" Kusakabe pressed on.

"Patrol the school grounds for now. Bite to death anyone who disrupts the peace of Namimori.

"I understand. Ja~ excuse me, then," Kusakabe bowed down to Hibari, and left in a hurry.

There was temporary silence all throughout the Reception Room. Hibari laid back down on the couch. He laid on his back with hands under his head, he used as support and a cushion.

Kuroi looked over at the solitary raven-haired.

"You're not much of a people person, are you?" She asked innocently.

No reply.

She got up and proceeded over to the sleeping demon. She analyzed his features and took note that he wasn't half-bad looking.

"Neh~ Kyoya," She was trying to get his attention.

"Don't speak my name with such informalities," He snapped.

"S-Sorry..."

An hour passed and Kuroi grew extremely bored. She glanced over to Hibari again. He was still soundly asleep on the couch.

Kuroi sighed and fell back on the couch opposite of Hibari.

"If you make anymore noise, I will bite you to death," He threatened.

She averted her attention over to Hibari. He hadn't moved an inch; he was still in the same position he was before.

Kuroi's expression was deadpanned as she observed her surroundings. The Reception Room was completely clean; nothing out of place; everything seemed "polished and perfect". She was amazed at how tidy everything was.

Kuroi got up from the couch and investigated the room further. She went over to the desk that Hibari was at earlier and rubbed her finger over the top of it. No dust. No dirt. Nothing.

She analyzed the contents on the desk. Everything was neatly placed. She looked over some of the papers that were sitting on top. They seemed to be permission forms from clubs that want new things to add or an area for a club to meet.

Kuroi went over to the window behind his desk and gazed through it. There were some students walking around on school grounds; nothing interesting to view.

There was nothing to do. She was completely and utterly bored out of her mind.

She looked over at Hibari, who was still asleep. She wandered over to him and looked at his sleeping face.

"Neh~ Kyo- um.. Hi..bari...?"

No answer.

"Hibari?"

No answer.

She took a step closer to him and slowly reached out her hand toward his face. Out of boredom, she began poking him in the face several times, "Hibari. *_poke*_ Hibari. *_poke*_ Hibari. *_poke*_ Hibari. *_poke*-"_

He grabbed her hand and halted her, "Enough. Do you wish to aggrivate me?"

This time when he spoke to her, he actually looked at her. Though it was more of an icy glare. However, because Kuroi has no sense of fear, she was unfased by Hibari's words and expression.

"Neh~ Hibariiiii," she innocently pleaded, "Will you play with me?"

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"But, there's nothing to do."

"Go find those other herbivores, then."

"But... They're in class."

"Then, go find Kusakabe Tetsuya and play with him," He said as he returned back to his original position, "If you disturb my sleep again, I will bit you to death, Herbivore."

Kuroi was a little disheartened that he didn't want to play with her.

She walked away slowly and opened the door. She peered around outside the room before leaving, making sure that the hallways weren't crowded. She hesitantly stepped into the hallway and cautiously shut the Reception Room door behind her. She wandered around the second floor, searching for the person known as Kusakabe.

After several minutes of searching, she gave up and began wandering idly around the school.

She stopped at one room on the first floor, and looked up at the sign.

_"Music Room"_

Kuroi walked in with curiosity soaring through her mind. She observed her surroundings: serval chairs were placed in rows across the floor, facing a podeum, percussion instruments were placed in the back left corner, Brass and Wind instruments were lined up against the wall or next to seats. Everything looked interesting to Kuroi, but what really caught her eye, was a beautiful, black grand piano sitting in the back right corner next to a window.

Immediately, she strode over to the beautiful musical instrument. She looked over it in amazement. Kuroi sat down gently on the bench and lifted the cover that was placed over the keys. She traced her fingers on it and began to play.

The song she played, she was too familiar with:

_Raindrops._

It was a beautiful song that her mother would play. It had a happy and soothing feeling to it. It was too great of a feeling to forget.

* * *

Kuroi remembered it clearly: some nights, her mother would play the song for her to get her to go to sleep. Kuroi would have her old, disheveled, stuffed rabbit with her, and she would sit on the floor next to the fireplace and listen to her mother's soothing piano music. As soon as she would fall asleep, her mother would stop playing, and would carry Kuroi to her room.

The melody was inscribed in her mind; it was impossible to forget.

* * *

Kuroi forgot about the time and continued to play the same song, continuously getting lost in its transe.

*_DING DONG DING DONG*_

She was so raptured by the music, she didn't notice the bell going off.

People began to line up against the Music Room door, listening to her play.

Nothing was going to stop her, she could hear nothing but the melody she played.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari Kyoya]_

About ten minutes after Kuroi left, Hibari decided to patrol the school again. When he reached the first floor the bell went off and people started filing in the hallways, but they avoided him at all costs.

For some reason, people began rushing past him. It looked like they were heading over toward the music room. He decided to investigate. After all, he did not like it when people crowded around school, so he might have some fun biting people to death.

The whole time he was walking, he heard many comments about piano music.

"Hey, did you guys hear that pretty piano music?"

"No."

"Well, you're missing out. C'mon, I'll show you."

When he got to the Music Room, there were several people crowding around the door trying to listen in on the music. Everyone so was enchanted by the wonderful piano music, no one noticed Hibari standing there agitated.

"Wow, that music is amazing."

"It really is..."

"Ssshhhh! We're trying to listen."

However, he, too, became entranced in the music, as well. Because it was such perfect piano playing, he decided to let it last a few more minutes and then take action.

After about a minute or so, the music stopped. That was Hibari's queue.

"Why are all of you herbivores crowding around? Dispearse or I'll bite you to death," Hibari walked toward the crowd, holding up his tonfas, an icy, menacing expression plastered on his face.

Everyone was startled by his arrival and immediately ran down the hallways, avoiding his tonfas.

When everyone disappeared, he looked over at the Music Room door. Because the person inside was the culprit for forming a crowd in the hallway, he decided to bite that person to death.

Hibari opened the door and glared in the direction of the piano. Because of the piano cover's placement, he could not see who the meister was behind the piano.

He swiftly walked over to the unknown meister. When he rounded the piano, he blinked at what he saw: Kuroi... She was frozen, her hands were hovering over the keys, her eyes were wide, though they didn't seem to express fear, but confusion and shock.

"... Who .. Is..." she trailed off.

Kuroi seemed to be in a sort of daze.

"Herbivore," He called to her.

No response.

"Herbivore," He said again with more frustration emanating from his voice.

No response.

"I don't like being ignored. If you don't answer me, I will bite you to death," He raised his arm showing a tonfa.

Still, no response. She remained in the state he found her in.

Hibari examined her and reluctantly rose his hand and placed it on her shoulder. She flinched and looked at him.

"Hi, Hibari," She greeted cheerfully.

"You caused a crowding in the hallway after minutes ago. For that, I will bite you to death," He held up his tonfas, annoyance playing throughout his expression.

"I did?" Kuroi cocked her head to the side, trying to be innocent.

He took a step toward her, which made Kuroi get off the bench, though she didn't appear to be in a state of panic when doing so. She smiled to herself.

"Well, in order to do that..." she trailed off as she started walking around the other side of the piano with Hibari's gaze fixated on her as she did so.

She idly walked over toward the exit slowly, and then stopped so that she was halfway to reaching the door.

"... You're gonna have catch me, first!" She shouted playfully and took off in a full sprint toward the exit and down the hallway.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Sora Kuroi]_

Kuroi took off down the hallway, laughing as she ran. Some students were outside their classrooms and watched her run by. They were confused until they saw the Head Prefect chasing after her.

Kuroi looked back and saw Hibari in a fit of rage chasing her down the hallway. He did not look happy at all.

Kuroi ran to the second floor, up to the third, and then back down to the first floor. The whole time she was being pursued by a demonic, tonfa wielding prefect.

She stopped by Tsuna's classroom to say hello to them.

"Sora-chan? Why.. Why are here?" Tsuna asked.

"Tch, it's that stupid girl..." Gokudera announced disappointed.

"Oh, I'm playing 'Chase' with Hibari!" Kuroi explained.

"Eh!? What did you do to get him to chase you!?" Tsuna became worried.

"I don't know. He said something about crowds."

"That's bad! Hibari-san hates crowds!"

"Ma~ ma. I'm sure she'll be fine. Hibari wouldn't really hurt a little girl, would he?" Yamamoto tried to reassure.

Kuroi looked over to her right and saw Hibari barreling down the hallway after her.

"Well, I gotta go, bye-bye!" She said as she started running down the hallway.

* * *

_[3rd Person Omniscient]_

"Huh, I guess he does beat up little kids..." Yamamoto concluded.

"That bastard!" Gokudera exclaimed.

"Yeah, beating up children is wrong," Yamamoto said.

"Not that!" Gokudera snapped, "_That!"_

Gokudera pointed over at Tsuna who was freaking out, "He made Juudaime upset. That bastard, Hibari, will pay!"_  
_

"What do we do!? Hibari-san is going to bite Sora-chan to death!" Tsuna went into a state of panic.

"Calm down, Dame~ Tsuna. He won't bite her to death."

A piece of the wall slid down as if it were a door and revealed Reborn sitting on a chair.

"R-Reborn!? What do you mean he won't bite her to death. He obviously will!"

"Just wait and see," Reborn said with a smirk planted on his face.

"Huh?"

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Sora Kuroi] _

Kuroi was still running down the halls, avoiding Hibari at all costs and having fun doing so.

Thinking that she finally lost him, she started walking around the halls, keeping a close eye out for him. When she rounded a corner, none other than Hibari Kyoya was standing there, waiting for her.

Kuroi gasped and turned around to run. However, she didn't go anywhere because he already had her by the arm.

Kuroi looked at Hibari and started laughing. There was no sign of amusement on Hibari's face, however.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari Kyoya]_

Hibari raised his tonfa to strike her, but her constant laughing was puzzling him. He looked at her in frustration as she laughed.

He finally got fed up and demanded, "Why are you laughing? Answer me."

"B-Because- haha... I finally got you to play with me," Kuroi looked at him straight in the eye as she said it so cheerfully.

He blinked at her words and his eyes widened by a fraction. Her response surprised him a little. He's never heard of someone thinking that him biting people to death, is playing a game with them.

This girl was exceedingly peculiar in every way possible. He didn't understand her at all. Why was it that she has no sense of fear? Why was it that she makes everything seem so... Happy?

Hibari seemed to have gone into a daze, because Kuroi was snapping her fingers at him. He looked at her and grabbed the hand she was snapping with.

"Stop that," He glared at her.

"Fine, fine."

Hibari and Kuroi returned to the Reception Room. Because of all the running they did, Hibari stretched himself out on the couch and went to sleep, while Kuroi just laid down on the other couch daydreamed.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Sora Kuroi] _

Kuroi remained on the couch looking up at the ceiling, recalling all the fun things she did today: Meeting new people, messing around with Hibari, patrolling the school, messing around with Hibari, playing the piano, messing around with Hibari and, her favorite; being chased by Hibari.

She replayed everything in her head. Then, she recalled what happened in the Music Room... The thought of what happened in the Music Room made Kuroi confused and distraught. Was it a vision she had? If so, why was she having visions and who was that teenaged boy in her vision? Who was... Mukuro...?

[END]

* * *

Okay! It seems Mukuro is here now (sort of). Can't wait to see what their connection is XD

By the way, the song _Raindrops _is in fact a real piano song composed by Jesse Wilson. I found it off of YouTube. Please check out the song, it's amazing. All rights for the song go to Jesse Wilson.

Let me know what you think and please review. I believe I'll have the next chapter up by tomorrow or Friday. Oh! And let me know what your favorite quote is in this story or any of my other stories! That, or what your favorite part is!

I'll update soon!

Ciao ciao!


	3. Visions

I'm glad to hear that you all have been enjoying my story! It makes me happy to know that, because it lets me know that I'm doing it right! Woah! Yayos I'm on a role lol. Though, I would appreciate it if someone could review my other story I_nstability,_ because I need to know if it's fine the way it is, or if I need to make some changes. Thank you!

To let you all know now, I will be coming up with another story on Saturday. Don't worry, it's not another Hibari fanfic. This one will have to do with the Varia. *insert evil laugh*

So here is chapter 3. Enjoy!

I don't own any of KHR. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters I have created.

Please let me know if you see any spelling and grammatical errors. I will be happy to fix them. Thank you.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Sora Kuroi] _

"Hey, get up. We're going home."

"... Hnnn..." Kuroi grumbled and turned away from the noise.

"Get up," The voice was more stern.

"... Hnnn.. I dun'.. Wan' .. Tuh'... (Sleepy talk for: I don't want to)," She grumbled again.

"Fine."

There was a sound of foot steps that grew louder as they came closer to her.

_*BAM*_

Kuroi was hit in the head with something metalic.

"Ow! That hurt!" She abruptly sat up and rubbed her head.

She looked around for the culprit and found him standing behind the couch she was laying on.

"You know, you can be a real meaner, Hibari," Kuroi looked up at him with a pouty face.

"A 'meaner'?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, a meaner. You're a meaner, Meaner," Kuroi chided.

"You are using incorrect grammer," Hibari looked at her, void of emotion.

"... You're in charge of the 'Grammer Police' as well, aren't you? ... Meaner," Kuroi teased.

"... We're going home. Let's go," Hibari went for the Reception Room door.

"'Home'? Your home?" Kuroi asked and crawled toward the armrest closest to Hibari.

"Yes," He left through the door.

She hopped down from the couch and chased after him.

"W-wait! Why am I staying with you? I have a place at the orphanage," Kuroi asked as she caught up to his unusually fast paste walking speed.

"Because the baby said that I have to keep an eye on you at all times, so we've made arrangements," Hibari displayed no emotion, though he seemed to be displeased with the matter.

"Well, what about my stuff?" Kuroi questioned as she jogged along to keep up with him.

"The baby already took care of it."

"Oh..." Kuroi stared at Hibari with a concerned expression. He payed no attention to her, however.

* * *

Hibari and Kuroi walked down the street. Hibari remained facing forward, while Kuroi took the time to look around the area and observe her surroundings.

The two arrived at the more opulent side of Namimori. The houses were more traditional instead of modern, however. They had large fences encompassing the home, the front yards were beautifully well kept and contained foliage such as bushes that were neatly trimmed, exotic looking flowers, small ponds, and trees.

"Wow... It's so... Pretty," Kuroi became mesmerized by the gorgeous scenery presented before her.

She was so taken aback by the enchanting, wealthy neighborhood, she didn't pay attention, nor take notice that Hibari stopped in front of one of the magnificent homes. Thus, she collided with Hibari and fell on her rear.

"You should pay attention as to where you're walking, Herbivore," He looked at her through the corners of his eyes.

"I'm sorry... It's just that I've never seen houses like these before. I've never even been to this part of Namimori," She explained.

Hibari opened the gate and stepped through.

Kuroi looked around the gate and found a placard with a name on it.

She read it out loud, "'_Hibari Residence'... _You live here? Cool!"

Hibari was already at the front door, "Come on. Hurry up."

Kuroi diverted her attention to him and pranced along the sidewalk up to his front door. Hibari held the door the open for her as she passed through. He took off his shoes and looked at her.

Kuroi looked back at him quizzically, "What?"

"You're not wearing shoes," He answered.

"Oh... Yeah..." She looked down at her feet, embarrassed that she didn't have shoes.

"Where are they?"

"Oh! Some of the kids at the orphanage took them, tied them together and flung them on powerlines," She paraphrased nonchalantly as she balanced herself along the edge of the step of the genkan.

"... And you didn't do anything about it?"

"Well... No... You see, for some reason, Nanny, she's in charge of the orphanage, she doesn't exactly like me that much. So, when I tolled her about what they did, she just shrugged it off and tolled me to get them myself. I asked other adults for help, and they got them down for me, but they just kept ending back up there. So, I left them. Now, I don't have shoes," Kuroi was abnormally casual about explaining the incident.

Hibari stared at her for a few seconds and walked off, with Kuroi following shortly behind. He gave her a side-glance.

"Follow me," He commanded.

Obediently, she followed him to a room which was considerably larger than her luxurious corner in the girl's room of the orphanage.

Kuroi was secluded into the corner with an old bunk-bed. The room was split into quadrants. Three of the quadrants were occupied by other girls, resulting in Kuroi having to settle for the bed that was farthest from everyone else.

The room that Hibari showed her to wasn't too dull and lacking in color. The bed was in the middle of the room, up against the right wall. It had a royal blue blanket and sheets while the pillows were white with black trimming. Nightstands acomponied either side of the bed. A vanity was set on the opposite side of the room from the bed. The cushion on the chair of the vanity set matched the bed; it was a royal blue with white trimming. The vanity, itself, seemed to be made out of fine mahogany. The carpet was white and a black rug laid in the center of the room. The closet was on the right side of the room, next to the bed. A window with white curtains was located on the opposite side of the room where the bedroom door was. A mahogany desk was placed under the window.

"... Pretty..." Kuroi was in awe of her new home. She was left breathless.

Kuroi looked at Hibari and pointed to herself, gesturing if the room was her's or not, "Mine?"

"Yes," He simply answered.

She looked back at the room. It took her a few seconds to process what just happened. Her face, then gleamed in a bright smile and she took off and jumped onto the bed, her body in a star shape as she stretched out across it. Kuroi went into a happy frenzy and rolled all over the bed.

When she sat up, Hibari was no longer there. She looked around her room and found her clothes and the rest of her belongings in a few paper bags sitting by the door. She went over, gathered her things, and put them away in the drawers and the closet. The last thing she went to put away, she realized it was stuffed rabbit. She hugged it and held it tightly to her chest.

She looked over the rabbit to see if anything was out of place. It had only one black button eye, the other appeared to be missing, most likely it was torn off. Its ears were as long as its body. One stood straight, but curved a little, while the other was completely bent over. A long scar of stitches circled the left side of the head. Similar stitches were located on the right arm, across the stomach, the left ear and both legs. Its cotton tail remained in tact. The rabbit was supposed to be gray and white in color, but due to aging and dirt, it's more of a brown and grayish-tan color. Despite its mangled and odd appearance, it still somehow displayed an adorable appeal.

* * *

After about an hour, Kuroi decided to investigate the house a bit further. She located the bathroom, the living room, and the kitchen.

When she arrived in the kitchen, she decided that since she was already there, she should get a snack before bed. (she wasn't all that hungry for an actual dinner). She peered around the kitchen looking for something small to snack on. When her eyes averted to the refrigerator, she looked to the counter next to it and found a few bananas. She stared them down.

"... Bananas..." She kept her sight fixated on the yellow fruits.

She pointed accusingly at the bananas, "You... Don't bring happiness! You're evil! You make people fall."

Kuroi walked over to the pantry, keeping her gaze locked on the bananas. She opened the pantry door and found a container of muffins. (I know right, 'cause Hibari totally keeps muffins around his house XD) She took a muffin and began eating it. When she was done, she looked back over at the bananas and stared them down again.

"What are you doing?"

Kuroi shot her attention over to Hibari, "Um, I'm just...-Going to bed goodnight."

She rushed over to her room and quietly shut the door. She changed into pajamas and crawled into bed. She held her rabbit in her arms and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Kuroi woke up with a fright at around one in the morning. She sat up in her bed, clutching onto her rabbit, recalling the nightmare she had. Though, the nightmare didn't exactly seem like an actual nightmare. It seemed more like that vision she had earlier in the Music Room.

Kuroi kept seeing images of this one boy. He had blue hair parted in a zigzag down the middle and was put up into a fashion that strangely seemed to resemble a pineapple. His left eye was blue while his right was... Red... With alternating symbols that started from the number one and went all the up to six.

She didn't understand what these visions meant. All she knew was that there was some sort of significance.

Unable to sleep, Kuroi got up out of bed and and wandered out into the hallway. Unsure of where to go, she headed over to Hibari's room.

Seeing that the door was cracked, she peered inside. She quietly opened the door, closed it, and walked silently over to him.

He was sound asleep on his side. He seem to be wearing long sleeved black pajamas.

Kuroi raised her hand to wake him up, but thought about it for a second, and lowered her hand.

"What are you doing?" Hibari asked groggily.

Kuroi was surprised that she woke him up.

"I.. Um.. Had a bad dream and I couldn't sleep..." She reluctantly admitted.

"... Just go to sleep," He said as he turned over, facing away from her.

Kuroi looked at the door and then back to Hibari. She thought about it for a second and then sat down on the floor next to his bed. She laid down and curled up into a ball and used her rabbit as a pillow.

Hibari opened his eyes, and turned to look at her. With an agitated sigh, he let her be.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari Kyoya]_

Hibari woke up in the morning to find that Kuroi was still sleeping next to his bed. He moved to get out of bed, but instead of his feet reaching the floor, they stepped on Kuroi instead. As soon as his feet hit her, he immediately recoiled and looked down. Somehow, she was not disturbed and she remained asleep. He looked at her with disinterest and irritation.

Hibari moved down the bed and got up where there was a free place to stand. He looked at her again, then turned toward his closet and gathered his school clothes and headed off toward the bathroom to get cleaned up and refreshed.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Sora Kuroi]_

Kuroi woke up a few minutes after Hibari left the room. Kuroi got up and walked down the hallway toward her room, sleepily swaying as she did so, dragging her rabbit along with her.

She went into her room and gathered together some clothes for her to change into. She lazily walked over to the other bathroom that was not in use and proceeded to get cleaned up.

When she was finished, she dressed herself into a large, white, longsleeved, button-up shirt that went down to her knees. The collar stuck up, unkept. She put black, cotton shorts on underneath. Kuroi buttoned the shirt down to the top of her shorts. Because she did not have any shoes, she put black ankle socks on as a substitute.

Kuroi stepped out of the bathroom and ran off to her room to drop off her other clothes. She walked out of her room and headed for the kitchen. Hibari was sitting their eating breakfast. He looked at her.

"What are you wearing, Herbivore?" He questioned.

"Oh, I told you didn't I? Nanny doesn't like me."

"So?"

"So, whenever she handed out new clothes to us, she would give me some random pieces of clothing she found at a thrift shop. That's why I have old clothing that's too big for me. I know, it's not very trendy or cute... But, it's all I have," She explained to him as casual as possible.

Kuroi walked over to the counter and prepared herself a couple of slices of toast with strawberry jam.

Hibari went back to finishing his breakfast.

When both were finished, they left for Namimori~ Chuu.

* * *

_[3rd Person Omniscient]_

Tsuna and Reborn were heading toward the school when they realized that there were Prefects on guard.

"Hey, it's the Prefects! And over there, too..." Tsuna exclaimed, completely baffled.

"Considering that there are so many cases of beatings on Namimori~ Chuu's students, they must be getting anxious, as well," Reborn explained.

"This really is a gang fight or something..." Tsuna concluded.

"You're wrong."

"Nah~ H-Hibari-san!" Tsuna coward in fear.

"Ciaossu," Rebron greeted.

"Hello, baby," Hibari greeted Reborn, though he was not in a good mood.

"I-I was just on my way to school. I wasn't doing anything bad..." Tsuna panicked.

"I've never encountered anything like this," Hibari said, "But of course, these sparks that have ignited must be extinguished."

Hibari shifted his gaze and swung his tonfa around, striking an older man whom of which had dark brown hair, a white suit and a blue dress shirt and tie. The man fell down.

"Dr. Shammal!?" Tsuna stared in disbelief.

"You disturb me, Mr. Perv."

"Sora-chan? When did you get here?"

"Well, if you were observant Dame~ Tsuna, you would have known that she was there the entire time," Reborn sneered.

A girl ran passed them, frightened.

"... Nnngghh..." Shammal whined, rubbing his head, "Now, why'd you do that?"

"I felt an evil intent," Hibari glared holes through him, but turned around and walk off, "Though it could have just been my imagination."

Kuroi looked at Shammal and turned to follow Hibari.

"That may be, but that doesn't mean you should strike a fellow. What a fearsome guy," Shammal complained as he stood up.

Hibari stopped momentarily, however, to feel his neck, but continued moments later. Kuroi just looked at him in curiosity.

"It was out of instinct," Shammal conveyed to Reborn, "Sakura don't bloom in this time of the season, so he should be alright."

"Yeah," Reborn agreed.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Tsuna questioned.

"I heard that there was trouble in the area, so I came to protect the ladies," Shammal stated with a smirk planted on his face.

"What a horrible doctor..."

Before anything else could be said, the Namimori anthem went off. _  
_

It appeared that the source that the anthem originated from was Hibari's cellphone.

_'That's Hibari-san's ringtone...?' _Tsuna thought in disbelief.

"Yes. That's right," Hibari turned to Tsuna who, then, coward in terror, "He's an acquaintance of your's, isn't he...? Sasagawa Ryohei was attacked."

"What!?"

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Sora Kuroi]_

Kuroi didn't understand what attacks everyone was referring to. However, that didn't stop her from worrying.

Hibari lead Kuroi over to the Reception Room. They both entered and Kuroi sat down on the couch.

"Do I have to stay in here? Can't I go to the music room?" She whined.

"No, stay here," Hibari commanded her as if she were a dog, then turned and proceeded to exit the room.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Kuroi called out to him.

"I have an annoyance of sparks that need to be extinguished." He went out of her sight.

"Now, how does that make sense...?" She asked herself and cocked her head to the side.

Kuroi slumped down in the couch and pouted. After a few moments, a smile crept onto her face.

She jumped off the couch and cautiously peeked her head out the doorway. No sign of Hibari.

Seeing that the premises was vacant of Hibari, she barreled down the hallway toward the music room. As she passed numerous classrooms, she noticed that most of them were nearly empty.

She slowed her pace and went into deep thought. She wondered why there were hardly any people at school and if the attacks were linked to it.

Kuroi looked up and saw Gokudera walking out of his classroom. She took this as an opportunity to be a ninja.

Kuroi quietly ran up to Gokudera from behind. When she was close enough, she lunged for him and jumped onto his back.

"What the Hell are you doing!?" Gokudera almost fell to the ground, but he kept his balance.

"I just have mad ninja skills," She taunted.

"Oi, kora! Get off me!"

Kuroi leapt down and smiled at him, "I'm sorry."

"Cheh, whatever," He stormed off.

"Hey, wait! Where is everyone?"

"Don't know. They probably all stayed home because of the constant attacks breaking out."

"So, where are you going?"

"Well, Juudaime isn't here, so there's no point of me staying in that room with that baseball-idiot."

"Oh... Well, bye, Hayato!" Kuroi waved at him.

Gokudera flinched and mumbled under his breathe, though Kuroi couldn't here what he said.

Kuroi turned away and headed down to the Music Room. When she got there, she glanced inside and noticed it was empty. Kuroi ran straight over to the piano and gently sat down on the bench. She lifted up the cover that shielded the keys and hovered her small fingers over them.

She tried to think of a melody to play. She recalled one song she learned from a piano teacher she used to have.

_Moonlight Fall_

Thinking of the melody in her head, Kuroi began to play wonderous music.

* * *

Time passed on as she continued to play. She was having fun. It was considerably better being in the Music Room than in the Reception Room. Everything was perfect for her.

Then, Kuroi froze again. It was the same thing that happened before; images of the one boy filled her mind. Except they were a little different this time. This time, there was another person, another male. He had black hair and a black coat. He looked disheveled and injured. The boy with the red eye seemed to be beating the other, mercilessly, torturously.

Kuroi tried to examine the black-haired male. He seemed familiar in a way. She was able to get a closer view of the victim. That's when she knew...

"Hibari!"

[END]

* * *

Oh. My. Cheezits! Hibari!? What happened to him? And what's with these visions? It seems that this story is getting more intense.

_Moonlight Fall_ is a real song composed and written by Jesse Wilson. All rights for the song go to Jesse Wilson. Search it on YouTube if you want to listen to it.

Let me know in a review what you think. Tell me your favorite quote and (or) part.

I will see you in the next update!

~Poof!


	4. Intolerable Hell

I'm getting a lot of great responses from everyone! :D Thank you all for supporting me, it makes so flipping excited to write this story!

I'll update as fast as I can. But for now, here's chapter four. Enjoy!

I own nothing of Katekyo Hitman Reborn! All rights go to Akira Amano, except for characters I have created.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Sora Kuroi]_

Kuroi got up abrubtly, flipping the bench over. She raced out of the Music Room, down the hall and sprinted for the front of the school. She pushed open the doors and ran up to the gate entrance of Nami~ Chuu.

She looked down to the right and to the left and she realized; she had no clue as to where Hibari would be. Kuroi recalled Hibari speaking of a person named Sasagawa Ryohei; one of the many victims and a friend of Tsuna's. She knows that he is most likely severely injured, so her best bet was to head over to the hospital.

Kuroi reached the entrance to the hospital. Tired from the running she did, she exhaustedly walked into the hospital. She observed her surroundings and took notice that a few of Nami~ Chuu's students were on the first floor.

She roamed around the hallways searching for someone she knew. She rounded the corner and found Tsuna. Relieved that she found someone she knew, she ran towards him.

"Tsuna!" She called out to him, waving her arms doing so.

"Sora-chan, what are you doing here?" He looked at her in shock.

"..hah...hah...hah... Do you know... Where.. Hibari is?" She panted and gasped for air.

"Hibari-san? Um... No. I havent seen him since this morning, why?" He asked her with curiosity playing across his face.

"He left somewhere and he hasn't returned. I think he may be injured..." Kuroi trailed off.

"Hibari-san? Injured? Don't be ridiculous! There's no way he would lose in a fight or anything like that!" Tsuna became extremely uncomfortable and anxious.

"... Yeah..." Kuroi wasn't reassured at all.

"Hey, it's Dame~ Tsuna."

"Hmm? Hey, who are you visiting for?" Tsuna turned his attention over to the random student.

"I'm visiting for Mochida-senpai from the Kendo Club." He answered.

Kuroi drowned out the two students and observed the hall. It was packed with most of Namimori~ Chuu's students, unlike the first floor. There must have been a lot pepole injured.

"Ah! It's the Disciplinary Committee's Vice-Head Prefect (Vice-President, which ever sounds better)!" The random student from earlier exclaimed.

Everyone bowed to the Prefects walking down the hall. Everyone, except Kuroi.

_'That is the Second in Command Head Prefect! He must know something about Hibari's location.'_ Kuroi thought.

Kuroi ran up to Kusakabe.

"Kusakabe!" She mustered up the last of her weakened strength and called for him.

"Hmm?" He turned around, "Nah~ K-Kuroi-san? You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to remain in the Reception Room-"

"Where's Hibari!?" She interrupted.

"What..." He was too shocked by her sudden question to answer her.

"Where is he- Where's Hibari?"

Kuroi was shaking. Her whole body trembled from being exhausted and overworked. Her mouth hung open, gasping for air. She stared at Kusakabe, waiting for the answer she so desperately desires.

"I'm not sure. But don't worry, he just left to go deal the 'problem' at its source," He tried to reassure her, "Just head on back to the Reception Room and he'll be back soon."

She closed her mouth slowly and hid her eyes under her bangs, her breathing sounded as if it had stopped. She turned around and slowly walked back to the entrance.

Leaving the hospital, she tried to put pieces of her visions and the knowledge she knows together. She thought back long and hard. Kuroi remembered that Hibari was talking about dealing with the 'sparks'. Kusakabe explained that he was going to deal with the problem at its source. Hibari seems to be highly proud of Namimori. And the attacks that have been going on, is dampening on his pride. What if he went to deal with the ones behind the attacks? And what if that vision with Mr. Pineapple beating him was the 'source'? Was Hibari trying to take out that person?

Kuroi looked back at her visions. She tried to remember what attire Mr. Pineapple was wearing. He seemed to be wearing the Kokuyou~ Chuu school uniform.

_'So the culprits are from Kokuyou...'_

Kuroi tried to recal the setting: it was dark, disheveled, tattered and seemed to resemble a theatre. Through the broken window, old, abandoned park rides and small buildings in the area could be seen. Somehow, it looked familiar to her; like she's been there before...

"Kokuyou Land!"

Kuroi immediately took off in the direction of Kokuyou Land. Thankfully, she had money in her pockets and was able to catch a bus.

* * *

A half hour passed, and with every minute that went by, she became more and more concerned.

The bus finally came to a stop, and Kuroi rushed to get off. She searched for a nearby store or a stand. Spotting a nearby newspaper stand, she asked the man running it if he could pinpoint the direction in which Kokuyou Land was, or even just give her directions.

The man gave her a funny look and complied to give her directions.

Kuroi bowed to him and thanked him respectfully. She now knew the destination and how to get there, but would she be able to make it time to help Hibari?

Kuroi ran as fast as she could to the culprit's domain. Much time has passed, however, by the time she got there.

There was a padlock and chain binding the gates together. There was no getting in. She examined the lock closely and noticed the built up dust, dirt and grime on it.

'_This lock is so old... It looks as if it hadn't been touched in years... Wait- ! If no one has touched it, that means that there is another way in!'_ Kuroi deduced.

She scanned the area, looking for anything that may seem suspicious or out of place. She noticed large bushes in front of the wall, just 20 yards away from the front gate. She walked curiously over to the bushes and peered behind them.

"Yes!" Kuroi found a small hole in the wall.

The hole wasn't big enough for her to crawl through though, but she was just small enough to squeeze through.

She got out of the hole in the wall and looked around. The area was more of a mess than what she originally thought.

Kuroi headed up toward a large building. The windows to the building were all damaged, dirtied and smashed. The walls were just as bad. Everything was in complete and utter ruins.

She stepped inside through a broken window, and analyzed the building's interior.

"Jeez... Did a tornado come through here?" She was disgusted by the horrible sight of such terrible maintenance.

Kuroi walked cautiously down the hallway, wary of the ceiling possibly collapsing or the floor giving way.

She managed to find a flight of stairs, though they were of no use, for they were destroyed. Kuroi searched for an alternative route. An escape ladder was bolted to the wall in the area next over from the stairs. She climbed the ladder and continued her search for Hibari.

As she approached a pair of double doors, she could hear the sounds of contact between objects. The sounds grew more distinct and louder as she got closer. She listened in on ongoing feud inside. Kuroi tried her best to keep silent until she was sure of she was going to do.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari Kyoya]_

_*BAM... BAM... BAM...*_

Hibari was being beaten by Mr. Pineapple. He was defenseless and unable to move the slightest bit. The Sakura-kura disease exploited his new, and only, weakness: Sakura. This disease rendered Hibari dizzy and unable to stand, his vision blurred and he would break out into a sweat.

Above him and Mr. Pineapple, Sakura blossoms rained and flourished throughout the ceiling. The beautiful site of Sakura was not adoring to Hibari, it was a ruthless torture.

*_BAM... BAM... BAM..._*

Again and again, Hibari was beaten by the pineapple-haired freakazoid.

"Oho," Mr. Pineapple grabbed a fist full of Hiabri's raven hair and hoisted him up, "Your face is saying, _'How did you know about my weakness to Sakura?'_"

He let go of Hibari's now mangled hair, letting him fall to the floor. Hibari looked disgusted and resentful toward Mr. Pineapple. His mind was fueled with hatred and vengeance. It flourished throughout his mind. He wanted nothing more than to bite the bastard to death.

"Oya? Are you thinking, '_If there were no Sakura around, I'd be just fine?'_" Mr. Pineapple mused.

The mystery offender stood up and walked around Hibari, "Well, you are dead wrong."

He looked away from Hibari.

"I have seen many with skills that are of match to you, and each one I have destroyed them," he stated, "In a place much like Hell. Come, let's continue."

_*BAM... BAM... BAM...*_

He continued to beat Hibari.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Sora Kuroi]_

_*BAM ... BAM... BAM...*_

With every hit, Kuroi flinched. With every bone snapping, she winced. With every taunting, idiotic laugh of the moronic villain, she grew angrier and angrier until she could no longer hold it in.

Kuroi bursted through the doors impulsively and stepped in between Hibari and the pineapple-haired weirdo.

"Touch him, and I will snap your head off with bolt cutters," Kuroi tried to sound as menacing as she possibly could.

There was a moment of silence.

Kuroi didn't realize what she just did until it was already done.

Then, Mr. Pineapple broke the silence.

"Oya~ oya? What's this? Hibari Kyoya's last resort? A little girl pretending to be scary when we all know that she is really just afraid of her own shadow. Is this supposed to be a secret weapon of your's Hibari Kyoya? If so, I commend you. You've brought an all new meaning to the word 'pathetic'," He laughed, "Look, she trembles. She fears me. What could she possibly do?"

Kuroi took a step toward Mr. Pineapple.

"I'm not afraid of you... Mukuro" This time, her voice was more stern. Although, she didn't understand how she knew his name, she just remembered from the vision

"Oh," He bent down closer to her level, "And what makes you say that?"

"Because unlike you, I have no sense of fear," Kuroi stated calmly.

"Then, let's change that, shall we?" He grinned evilly down to her.

"Hmm?"

With such speed, he reached down for her right wrist and pulled it up to his eye level.

"I know who you really are... Sora Kuroi," He smiled wickedly at her.

Kuroi's eyes widened in bewilderment.

"How do you..." She trailed off.

"This ring on your finger says it all; you're a Hell raiser!" He announced, "You're connected to Hell, just as I am."

"..."

"You are its keeper, after all. It's only natural that I would know of you."

"I don't understand..." Kuroi had so many questions swirling around her mind, she couldn't speak. She had no clue as to what Mukuro spoke of.

"You have visions, don't you?"

Kuroi shot her head up at Mukuro, whom of which seemed to be closer than before.

"Because of your significance to this world, you are linked with others that are connected to Hell, itself. That is why you are prone to experiencing such images."

He released her wrist and she fell to the ground and crawled away from him.

"With your power, you are not just a Keeper of Hell, you are a weapon as well," Mukuro began walking toward her with an evil intent, "You will make the perfect weapon for destroying the mafia."

"N-NNNNOOOOOOO!"

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari Kyoya]_

Hibari was not just oozing rage, he was humiliated. Watching Kuroi come to his aid was not something he wanted to witness. He felt in debt to her. He absolutely despised being in debt to people.

But, not only was he in rage and humiliated, he was also failing his 'assignment'. His job was to protect her and he failed to do so. This just adds oil to the fire.

Hibari tried to get up. He loathed watching that herbivore attack Kuroi. It stepped all over his pride. Only he was allowed to bite her to death. She was an annoyance to him; sure. However, he was inclined to watch over him by the baby, Reborn's, request. If he fails Reborn, he wouldn't be able to fight him.

Hibari was pushing himself to get up. He wanted that bastard dead. He wanted him bitten to death.

Hibari was lost in his own thoughts and failed to realize that Mukuro had Kuroi by one of her twintails.

"NNAAARRRRGGGHHH!"

Hibari looked up to see Kuroi in the hands of Mukuro, screaming in pain. He examined what was causing her to scream; three round-tipped, cylindrical pieces of metal dug into the side of her. Hibari looked over the weapon. It was a trident that protruded through her skin.

"You may not fear pain, but that doesn't mean you can't experience it," Mukuro said into her ear.

Mukuro began to slowly twist the trident in her side, causing Kuroi to scream in agonizing pain. Blood protruded out of her wound and covered, what once was a white shirt, in red. The floor became home for puddles of blood.

Mukuro slowly pulled it out and traced it along the side of her face.

"I already know that you can see through my illusions, so it wouldn't be any fun to use them on you. That's why you'll just have to suffer from physical pain," Mukuro smiled sadistically.

He pressed down near her temple and slid the trident dface her cheek. Blood dripping down the side of her face and neck, now.

Kuroi looked at him with her watery eyes filled with hatred.

Hibari continued trying to get up. But the Sakura-kura disease and his wounds would not allow him to do so. All he could do was watch.

Mukuro looked over at Hibari.

"I wouldn't try getting up. It would just make your wounds worse," He sneered, "Just stay down and I'll get back to you, momentarily."

Mukuro turned his attention back towards Kuroi.

"Don't worry, I still need you for future use, so I won't break you just yet," Evil was written all over his face, "And as for him... You shouldn't worry about him. He's broken as is."

Hibari resented that. Being broken was when something stopped working; Hibari was still working. He was alive, wasnt he? He was not broken.

Mukuro numerously injected the trident into her body. He continued with his malicious fun, until Kuroi was finally rendered unconscious by the loss of blood, along with her body not being able to take so much pain.

"Oya~ oya? Unconscious already? Well, you're no fun anymore, Sora Kuroi," Mukuro released her and she fell to the ground with a thud. Blood still pouring from her wounds.

He looked back to Hibari. A smile of malice spread across his face.

"What's wrong? I thought she was a hindrance to you. A nuisance. Aren't you happy she's out of your way, now?"

Hibari glared at Mukuro. His glare was so icy and cold, it, metaphorically speaking, created ice shards.

"Heh heh. So, where were we before we were so rudely interupted? Oh, yes, now I remember," He recalled.

Mukuro went back to assualting him, continuing to do so in the most torturous ways imaginable, until ... Hibari fell to the floor, unconscious.

[END]

* * *

Man, that was a messed up chapter. I'm sure you guys were expecting something a little bit more ... Happy? But, haha, I get creative.

Sorry if my interpretation of Mukuro's character in the story was really bad. I've never written dialogue or anything for him before. So please let me know how I did on him.

By the way, what Mukuro said about Kuroi being the "Keeper of Hell", keep what he said in mind for future reference. Sorry if that part in the story didn't make much sense. I wrote that part at like 2:30a.m.

And just so you all know now, I will bring more of the KHR characters into this story. As soon as the Kokuyou Arc is finished, much more of the KHR characters will appear.

Tell me in a review what your favorite quote and (or) part was!

And I will see you in the next update.

~POOF!


	5. Penetration

Okay! So sorry that this one took longer to update. I was a bit busy. Which reminds me; **Sunday I may not be posting any updates on either story, because I'm going to be doing a bunch of stuff with my friend on that day. I'm terribly sorry! **:'(

But don't worry! I won't stop posting.

By the way, if you want to skip the filler info (there's a lot, I know it sucks... And I hate it too) you can skip down to Kuroi's POV. As long as you see what happened with her, it's fine. SO FLOOPING SORRY ABOUT THIS CHAPTER!

Here is chapter 5. Enjoy!

I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters I have created.

* * *

_[3rd Person Omniscient]_

"Eh? What do you mean they're trying to pick a fight with me?" Tsuna questioned Reborn.

"This is it," Reborn held up a gold pocketwatch.

"What's the deal with this watch? It's stopped. Isn't it broken?"

"This watch was found on Kusakabe's chest after he was attacked. A similar watch was on Sasagawa Ryohei's chest after he was attacked," Reborn took out a second watch and opened it, "There were several other victims that received a watch on their chest aftertoeing assaulted. One of the watches stopped at six."

"6... 5... 4..." Tsuna repeated the times that were displayed the watches on the watches.

"Don't strain yourself with those high numbers, Tsuna. It's a countdown."

"What the heck!" Tsuna was surprised.

"Once I realized that it was a countdown, I found a correlation," Reborn took out a sheet of paper, "Take a look at this."

Tsuna took the paper and read it outloud, "'_Namimori~ Chuu's Fighting Strength Ranking'_... Eh? What about it?"

"... Are you naturally this dense? ... The order of the victims matches the rankings exactly," Reborn explained the significance to Tsuna.

"Really!?" Tsuna read over the list again, "Oh, wow! They do! But... This ranking list..."

"It's Fuuta's ranking list," Reborn bluntly stated.

"What the heck is going on...?" Tsuna was utterly stunned.

"We, mafia, have a code that we live by, the Omertá," He announced to Tsuna, "It's a code that states that under no circumstances should one reveal his or her secrets about their organization. Fuuta's ranking lists are entirely top secret. There's no way any ordinary person would have access to it."

"Wait- so.. Since, the number four person was attacked, does that mean they're already going after the number 3?"

"Yup."

"No way!" Tsuna searched over the paper, yet again, "Number three, number three, number three- ah! Reborn, what do we do?"

"Deal with it. I have other things I need to do," Reborn started walking down the hallway.

"What? Me!?" Tsuna gestured to himself.

"Yes. Oh, by the way, I need you to check in on Kuroi. She should be in the Reception Room back at Nami~ Chuu. Either that, or the Music Room. If she's not there..." Reborn trailed off.

"What? What if she's not there!?" Tsuna was in a state of panic.

"Let's just say it'll make the situation worse..." Reborn was vague about his answer.

"Huh...?"

* * *

[At Kokuyou Land]

A bowling ball rolled down a lane and knocked over the pins.

"Ha! ... So, Mukuro-san, how was he? The boss of Nami~ Chuu? What was his name again? Sparrow? Duck?" A spiky, blonde-haired Kokuyou male student mocked.

"Please, Ken... No puns... And, he was a miss. ," Mukuro concluded," Kufufu~ What a fearsome man he is, Hibari Kyoya."

"So, what did you do with him?" He asked curiously.

"I took him out. He's just lying down over there, unconscious." Mukuro replied with a smile stretched on his face.

"Heh! I wonder if he's still alive! ... And what about that little brat?" Ken asked with a sinister smile illuminating his face. He seemed intent on wanting to know how much she's suffered and how badly injured she is.

Mukuro fixated his sight over to his right. There, he pinpointed Kuroi lying on the decrepit floor, in a revolting and debilitated condition.

"Kufufu~ She's rebellious. Her mind won't accept me. She keeps refuting," Mukuro may have said it with a smile on his face, but one would easily be able to tell that he was perplexed and frustrated.

Mukuro turned his attention back to Ken, "Oya~ where is Chikusa, anyway?"

"Hmm? Oh, Kakipi went after the third ranked person on the list," He answered, "He said it was getting more and more tedious and that his chances weren't very good."

"I understand that feeling. After all, we haven't gotten a 'hit' yet," Mukuro sighed and diverted his attention again back over to Kuroi, "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have matters to attend to."

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Sawada Tsunayoshi]_

_'I have to hurry! I need to warn Gokudera-kun! Hopefully I'll get to him before they do. ...Ah, man, then I have to go get Sora-chan. I hope she's alright...'_ Tsuna thought to himself as he ran down the street.

As Tsuna ran down through the neighborhood, a giant net came down from the sky and encompassed Tsuna, tangling him up in it.

"What the Hell just happened!?" Tsuna wriggled around like a worm, but to his disadvantage, he became even more wrapped up in it.

"Yes! Tsuna-san is saved!" Haru appeared with Lambo and I-pin tagging along with her.

"What? How the hell am I being saved? And why?" Tsuna complained and continued to twist and turn in the net, trying to get loose.

"Haru heard about the people targeting Namimori~ Chuu students and that it was becoming dangerous for Tsuna-san," Her eyes gleamed, "So, we thought that if we could get to you first before they did, you'd be saved."

"Gyahahaha! Baka~ Tsuna is all tied up, now," Lambo teased.

"Lambo! Stop teasing!" I-pin ordered with her high pitched, cute voice.

"Stingy, stingy, stingy, I-pin," Lambo detested.

"Stop, Lambo. I'm not stingy," I-pin countered.

"This makes no sense!" Tsuna shouted ever so confused, "Stop playing these silly games!"

"It's not a game," Haru tried to persuade him, but to no avail.

"Haru, get me out of this! I have somewhere to be! I'm in a hurry," Tsuna protested Haru's act.

"Stingy Dame~ Tsuna," Lambo said while boredly picking his noise. (Ew...)

"I'm not stingy. Just hurry up, and undo this net!" Tsuna was becoming more and more frustrated and started rolling around.

"*_sigh_* If Haru must, and if that's what Tsuna-san wants..." She tried to play the "guilt-trip" on him.

"Hurry!"

Lambo, Haru and I-pin all knelt down and tried to untangle the net to free Tsuna.

"Hurry up! There's no time!" He continued to rush them.

"Haru's trying! We're going as fast we can," Haru said, feeling a little nervous from Tsuna rushing them.

"I-pin's trying," She reassured.

"Dame~ Dame~ Tsuna! Stop being so mean," Lambo continued to tease.

"I'm not being mean!" Tsuna protested.

After a few minutes, Haru, Lambo and I-pin were able to untangle Tsuna. He jumped up, happy he was finally free.

"Yes! Thank you!"

Tsuna ran down the street and continued until he reached a public telephone. He hastily dialed Gokudera's number and waited.

"The person you tried to reach is unavailable, for their phone is either busy, turned off oridles not have power. Please try again later," A monotonous voice recording answered on the other end of the line.

"Aahhhhh! Why is it that when I need to reach Gokudera-kun, I can't?" Tsuna scratched at his head in frustration.

"Oh, no, it's a Namimori~ Chuu student. Don't make eye-contact. We shouldn't get involved with them," A random school girl said to her friend when she spotted Tsuna.

"... That's what people think of us?! Harsh..." Tsuna said to no one in paticular.

"Yeah, I know. There was even a fight atKokuyou student at the Namimori Shopping District going on right now," The other school girl said in response to her friend.

"Wait a minute... A Kokuyou student and Namimori student fighting? ... Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna raced off toward the Namimori Shopping District hoping to find Gokudera there.

As Tsuna ran through the shopping district, he heard explosions go off in the distance.

"Gokudera-kun!?" Tsuna ran in the direction of the explosions.

When he arrived at its origin, he found Gokudera a little battered up, but he was still okay.

"G-Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna exclaimed in shock.

"J-Juudaime? What are you doing here?" Gokudera was equally stunned.

"Oh.. Um... It's just that there was a rumor going around that you were being targeted..." Tsuna replied sheepishly.

"Really? You came to warn me just for that? I'm sorry for the trouble, but I took care of the guy," He stated feeling accomplished.

"What- then it was true..." Tsuna tensed up.

"He's somewhere over there," Gokudera turned his head to the shield of smoke emanating from the ground where his target once was.

"You've saved me a lot of time."

Tsuna and Gokudera looked over toward the cloud of smoke and ash. A tall, skinny figure appeared out of the smoke. He wore glasses that were now broken, a white beanie that had blood caked on it and a green Kokuyou school uniform that was all tattered a bloodied.

He limped forward toward the two.

"This will make things a lot easier," The lengthy boy flicked his arm up.

"Watch out, Juudaime!" Gokudera threw himself in font of Tsuna, taking a handful of needles to the chest.

"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna was astonished.

"Please... Run, Juudaime," Gokudera fell to the ground. Blood trickled out from where the needles pierced into him.

"Gokudera-kun! Are you alright? (Obviously not, idk why he ever asked that in the first place, even in the anime/manga) G-Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna went into a panicked frenzy.

The tall boy approached him and flicked his arm again, sending needles Tsuna's way. However, before the needles could penetrate him, someone knocked Tsuna out of the way and onto the floor.

"Yo, Tsuna. I see that you're playing that mafia game again, so I'm here as well," Yamamoto grinned, "Though it looks like we aren't doing so well..."

Yamamoto looked sullen at Gokudera and then the attacker. He had a serious demeanor playingthroughout his expression.

"You're in my way," The Beanie-boy flicked his arm yet again and yo-yos and needles flew around Yamamoto and Tsuna.

However, Yamamoto took out his bat, and in one clean swing of it, it turned into a sword and cut the strings on the yo-yos.

"I see... You must be Yamamoto Takeshi," Beanie-boy examined.

"So what of it?" Yamamoto was still carrying his serious expression.

"You're Ken's target. He would get upset if I were to steal his prey from him," He explained.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Sora Kuroi]_

Kuroi didn't understand what was going on, but she knew what she heard was not good. She finally awoken from her long sleep. Her vision was still a bit blurry and she could no longer move, for if she did, her wounds would open back up.

She heard footsteps come her way. She could feel a presence towering over her in a threatening manner. Kuroi tried to move her head to get a view of who was next to her. Blue hair in the shape a pineapple was all she could recognize. She didn't have to have perfect vision to figure out who was standing there... It was him... It was Rokudo Mukuro.

"Oya~ Oya? It seems you're finally awake," He cooed.

He knelt down next to her and pulled her by her hair to lift her up to his eye level.

"You've been very intollerable, lately," He said with a fake smile, " You need to relax and let go of your mind and accept the fact that you can longer be in control of your mind. I am your new master now. Submit to me."

He grabbed her by the leg where a wound he previously inflicted on her laid. He dug his thumb into her wound and twisted it, causing it to reopen.

"NNNAAAARRRGGHHHH!" Kuroi screamed in pain.

"Why must you be so disobedient? If you allowed me access to your mind, all of the pain would go away," He tried to negotiate, "The little Ranking-Star turned out just fine."

He looked over to a dark corner. A little boy with light brown hair, a green sweater and a scarf sat in the corner holding onto his big red book. His eyes appeared lifeless.

"See? He is unharmed. He has no such wounds as your's," Mukuro smiled maliciously.

Kuroi was seething with rage. She closed her eyes and tried to not think about the pain. However, images ran through her mind. Hellish images and thoughts circled around in her mind. They weren't her thoughts. They couldn't have been. They were HIS!

He was trying to penetrate into her mentality. He was trying to take control of her. To use her to his advantage.

His mind intercepting her's. The visions he forced upon her brought pain into her head. She couldn't not think about pain, because he forced it in her through means deemed unimaginable.

Kuroi fought back. She didn't want to become someone's puppet. She didn't want him to use her, especially if that meant he would use her to harm the people she cares so much for.

All she could do to protect herself and other's around her, was to reject Mukuro's "mind-control" at all costs. If she is as powerful as others say she is, the worst thing she could do is to allow access into her mind. All Hell would break loose if she did that, so she refuted.

"Kufufu~ are you sure you want to keep up at this? You may not survive much longer," He stated.

"I'm ... Hah...not afraid... Argh-... Of.. Dying..." She managed to say with the last of her strength.

"Oh? Are you sure? How would you know? You haven't tried it, yet," He sneered.

Kuroi looked at his menacing, ruthless expression. She knew he was having too much fun with torture. It sickened her. She had to refuse him at all costs.

"Now, let's try this again, shall we?"

He raised his hand and carressed her bruised face. At the instance of his touch, he entered her mind.

"NNNAAAAAARRRGGHHH- AARRGGHH! ..." Kuroi was in mental pain. Her head throbbed, it felt as if it would explode.

Kuroi was running out of strength and she could not hold on much longer. Mukuro took his chance.

"AAARRRGGGHHH-!" Her screaming came to a stop, her eyes widened, and they became lifeless, gold orbs.

"Oya~? So, now you give up? And I was having so much fun," He said, "Well... At least I've finally gotten what I've wanted."

He stood up.

"You are now my very own puppet... Sora Kuroi."

[END]

* * *

HOLY SHIT, WHAT JUST HAPPENED!? Is Kuroi under Mukuro's control? What will happen to her? Man, and Yamamoto getting serious? Shit just got real. XD

And yes! I'm sure you all hated this chapter... I know I did. But, I had to get the info in somehow or else the story wouldn't make sense in a way.

DON'T WORRY! THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE SOOOOO MUCH FRICKING BETTER!

Man, this chapter took a while to write. Sorry about the meaningless parts at the begginning. I needed to put in filler information about what was happening with Tsuna and the others. But hey at least the ending was interesting.

Tell me your favorite part and (or) quote in a review and let me know what you think. I'm sure no one appreciated the lack of Kuroi's appearance. She wasn't in it that much and over half of this was filler info. Sorry about that. But at least there are more characters in there :D

And just a reminder: I may or may not be posting Saturday and Sunday because I'll be at my friend's house. But I will update as soon as I can, so for now, I will see you in the next update.

POOF!


	6. Intent

Alright, so I know my last chapter was so fricken horrible... Uugghhh...anyway, sorry for the late update. I've been busy. But, I assure you, this chapter is wwwaaaaayyyy better than the last.

Here's chapter 6. Enjoy!

I do not own any part of KHR. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters I have created.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

She was a lifeless marionette. She did not talk much and she hardly moved unless tolled to. Kuroi's mind was in a rather thick fog that was impossible to escape.

Mukuro has entered her mind, and she no longer has control over it anymore.

Kuroi sat next to Mukuro on the dark couch in the shady theatre room. Her eyes fixated on nothing; she just remained staring straight on. Her eyes were dull in color and gleam and her expression was unreadable.

Mukuro rubbed the top of her head softly in a mocking manner.

"Kufufu~ my little, obedient pet. Though.. You're more of a puppet," He belittled her.

Kuroi remained motionless. She didn't produced any thoughts or emotions.

'_Escape..._' She heard a voice in her head, but didn't flinch nor pay attention to it.

'_You must... Listen... Hear me... Escape...'_ It continued, but Kuroi did not listen.

"Mukuro...-san..." Chikusa walked in through the door and collapsed.

"Eh? Is Kakipi back?" Ken walked in through the doors,as well, and looked at Chikusa, "Haha! He looks so pathetic- all bloody and burnt. He looks so tasty."

Ken raised Chikusa's arm to bite down on it.

"Ken, don't chew on him," Mukuro scolded, "He's just unconscious. If he met with the Vongola, there's no way Chikusa would return empty handed unless he's found something. We'll wait for him to wake up."

"Fine..." Ken mumbled with dissatisfaction.

"Hmm.. It appears that the Vongola are here... Why don't you go have some fun, Ken?" Mukuro smiled.

"Heh! Gladly, byon!" Ken ran out of the room.

Mukuro turned his attention to Kuroi.

"Now... I have a job that only you can do, Kuroi-chan. Will you do it?" He smiled.

"Yes. Mukuro-sama..."

* * *

_[3rd Person Omniscient]_

"W-Wait, Bianchi- is that poison cooking!?" Tsuna exclaimed out of fear.

"Poison Cooking Solution Sakura Cake!" Bianchi through the poison cooking against the gate's padlock.

The old, grimy padlock disintegrated and withered away, allowing Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Reborn and Bianchi access into Kokuyou Land.

They walked along the path leading up toward the summit.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Kuroi and Ken were hidden in the mass amounts of foliage and watched the group travel along the path. Ken was kneeling on the ground peering out from a bush, while Kuroi was sitting on a high branch of a tree.

"Finally! I've been so bored, byon! They'll make for a delicious meal," Ken stated with his mouth watering.

Ken jumped out of the bushes and lunged for Yamamoto, causing Yamamoto to fall backwards onto the ground. The dirt and rock from beneath him was crumbling and eventually gave way, causing him to fall down into a hole. With such excitement, Ken jumped into the hole after his prey.

Kuroi just watched with a vacant expression as Tsuna, Gokudera, Bianchi and Reborn circled around the hole.

"What was that thing!?" Tsuna was terrified.

"It looked human," Gokudera replied, "Oi, Yamamoto if you're not dead, don't say anything, so we can leave!"

"..." No reply.

"Alright, he says we can lea-"

"What!?"

"Damn it!" Gokudera obviously did not want a response.

"Yamamoto, are you alright!?" Tsuna was worried for his wellbeing.

"Yeah! This hard, concrete floor broke my fall!" He answered back cheerfully.

"That idiot..." Gokudera said deadpanned.

Kuroi jumped down from the tree and walked quietly behind a bush over to another tree so that she could hear and see them better.

"There's something to his right," Bianchi stated.

"It looks like an animal," Gokudera described.

"We were separated from Yamamoto so that we could not help him," Reborn justified.

Kuroi watched them and waited for her opening. By listening to the sounds that she heard, she could tell that Ken was running all over the place and attacked Yamamoto from every angle. She could hear his voice change to different pitches; something that she's never heard before. However, she did not care. She was only there to do her the job that Mukuro assigned her.

Reborn looked in her direction, prompting her to duck so that she wasn't seen. She kept her dull, gold eyes locked on Tsuna.

"Hmm..." Reborn looked over the bush with curious eyes.

"What's wrong, Reborn?" Bianchi asked him.

"What are you looking at?" Tsuna looked over at the same bush Reborn was gazing upon.

"Hmm... I thought I saw something. Maybe it was just my imagination," He said distantly.

"... Mukuro-sama..." Kuroi mumbled quietly.

"Aaaahhh!" Tsuna rubbed his head in confusion, "What do I do?"

"Well, you're the boss, you do something," Reborn said as he kicked Tsuna into the dark pit.

It was unclear as to what they were all saying. Kuroi was too intent on focusing on her job, thus she drowned everyone else out.

All she could hear was a bunch of yelling and shouting.

"Yamamoto!" Tsuna yelled.

"I've got you!" Ken said, his voice muffled as if he had something in his mouth.

"You're wrong," Yamamoto said with a serious demeaner.

There was a loud smack and a thud.

"Yamamoto... Your arm..." Tsuna said.

"It's alright. I've had worse injuries. I can still play Baseball with this little scratch," He reassured.

After a while, Gokudera, Bianchi and Reborn managed to get Tsuna and Yamamoto out of the hole. Bianchi wrapped up Yamamoto's arm in bandages.

"That'll do," She said plainly.

"Thanks," He thanked her and turned to the kid, "Sorry, I broke the bat."

"It's alright," Reborn pulled out another bat, "Because, I have a spare."

"Where the Hell were you keeping it!?" Tsuna questioned him in shock.

Kuroi went back to the dilapidated building. She walked into the Cinema Room where Mukuro was. He was sitting on a stool next to a bed where Chikusa laid.

"Mukuro-sama..." She walked up to Mukuro and stood next to him, clutching onto his arm with no emotion.

"Yes, my dear, Kuroi-chan?" He ads it sound sweet and polite, but he was really just mocking her in the end.

"Ken has been eliminated," She said without looking at him.

"Hmm... I see... No matter, everything will be fine," He assured her with a smile.

"... Hnnnnn..." Chikusa woke up.

"Oya? So you've awakened?" Mukuro asked with such simplicity, "The third-ranked person on the list must've been quite troublesome."

"I met the Vongola Boss," Chikusa announced.

"So it seems. He and the rest of his followers are on their way here, now. They even managed to defeat Ken," Mukuro's smiled faded as he said this.

"What?" Chikusa got up abruptly.

"Don't panic. Our reinforcements have arrived, after all," Mukuro tried to stop Chikusa from getting up too fast.

"As blunt as always, this guy," A feminine voice was heard.

Kuroi, Mukuro and Chikusa looked over toward the new people. One was a female with short, red hair and purple eyes. Another was rather tall and masculine with a tattoo on his jawline and he wore a hat. There were two... Things... Sitting on the couch. They had pale skin, no eyes and were very lengthy in their anatomy. The last person, was an ugly looking old man with a hat and yellow birds sitting around him. Everyone there possessed Kokuyou~ Chuu uniforms.

"To think we've been cellmates for such a long time," She continued.

"What are you doing here?" Chikusa questioned with contemptuous eyes.

"I'm here for the money," She said proudly, "Mukuro-chan pays the best."

"I'm only here for the thrills," The old man said.

The rest remained silent.

Kuroi fixated her gaze onto the tall man in the back that hid his eyes under a hat. She could sense something odd about him, but she ignored it.

Mukuro turned to Kuroi.

"Kuroi-chan, you need to go to your post in case you need to finish your job if they do not succeed," Mukuro ordered her with a polite smile, though it was fake of course, "Though, I'm sure you won't need to. I'm only doing this as a precaution, of course."

"...Yes, Mukuro-sama..." Kuroi turned and exited through the door, carrying with her the end of a decorated trident.

* * *

Kuroi walked back and found Tsuna and the others setting up lunch at a nearby table. She peered from around a tree and waited.

Just when they were finished with setting everything up, music from a nearby building started playing.

"Where is that music coming from?" Tsuna requisitioned to know.

The bottles of tea, water, juice, etc. exploded, as did the food.

Tsuna and the others ducked behind the bench for cover.

"What the hell is going on!? Where is that music coming from!?" Tsuna went into a panicked state.

"It sounds like it's coming from..." Gokudera was able to detect the music's location, "Over there!"

He threw sticks of dynamite toward the old building. Explosions proceeded to go off.

"What lame weapons," A female voice insulted through the cloud of ash and smoke, "I wonder how guys like you managed to get both Kakipi and Ken."

"That's Kokuyou's uniform!" Tsuna pointed out the obvious.

"Then that means..." Gokudera said.

Kuroi was paying attention to the girl, but she diverted it back to Tsuna and drowned her out. She was clutching at the trident, waiting for her opening.

The girl continued to insult the group and claimed that money was more important than anything, which was why she took the job in the first place. That's when Bianchi stepped up.

"Money isn't the most important thing in the world, it's love," She claimed with such confidence.

"Huh? What an annoying woman," She said with displeasure.

"That clarinet is like a microwave, isn't it?" Bianchi asked, also displeased, "When water is exposed to radiation, the temperature will rise, causing it to boil."

"So what if it is."

The girl began to monologue about how the clarinet works, while Kuroi snuck in closer to Tsuna's location.

By this time, Bianchi and the girl were in a physical fight. Bianchi charged her with poison cooking in either hand. She threw both dishes, but the girl dodged. Bianchi took out another dish and prepared to attack again.

"Death berry shortcake!" Bianchi said the name of her attack, "This is the end for you!"

"Kkyyaaaa!" The girl screamed, "Oh, is that what you expected me to say? Well, you should know, closed-quarters combat is my specialty!"

Her clarinet turned into a sort of nunchuck and she swung at Bianchi, hitting her in the face, sending her skidding and rolling on the ground.

"Oh, no! Bianchi!" Tsuna had his hands on the top of his head.

"Oi!" Yamamoto started to move forward, but he was stopped by Gokudera.

"It's already over," He said.

"What do you mean?" Yamamoto asked.

"So that's the move she perfected. To be able to turn anything she touches into poison cooking," Gokudera thought out loud.

The girl had already put the clarinet in her mouth and tasted the killer poison cooking. She fell on her back, twitching and was then rendered unconscious.

"Are you alright?" Bianchi ran to Reborn and hugged him.

Meanwhile, Kuroi was getting closer to Tsuna. When she was about to attack, Reborn looked in her direction, causing her to hide behind a tree.

'_Please... Listen... Escape, now... While you still can...'_ She heard the voice again, but continued to ignore it.

"Oi, Tsuna," He called for him, "Did you remember to check in on Kuroi?"

"Eh? Sora-chan? ..." Then he finally realized, "Aaaahhhh! I totally forgot about her! What am I gonna do!? What if she's not there!?"

"Don't worry, Juudaime," Gokudera said, "I'm sure she's back at Namimori."

"I wouldn't bet on it..." Reborn disagreed.

"What do you mean?" Yamamoto asked him.

"Let's just say you might want to keep your eyes open and be on guard," Reborn said as he hid his eyes under his hat.

Kuroi heard footsteps coming in the group's direction and looked toward the origin of the sound. The old man was there.

"You know, I'm glad you were able to defeat that M.M. girl," He said with a smile.

"Who are you?" Tsuna asked, frightened.

"What do you want?" Yamamoto took a step forward.

"Now, now. Please, calm down and take a look at this," He pointed to a wall that had a screen projecting images of Kyouko and Haru.

"Kyouko-chan! Haru!" Tsuna exclaimed, "Why are they there?"

"You bastard, what are you up to!?" Gokudera demanded.

"So you're our next opponent?" Bianchi was unhappy as well.

"Now, now, I told you to stay calm," He said, "Let me explain everything. My name is Birds..."

Kuroi drowned him out as well, and began moving again to find herself another opening.

While Birds explained his devious and horrible plot about the, what he calls, 'Bloody Twins' and Kyouko and Haru's significance, Kuroi was wandering around the foliage. Reborn looked in her direction and became suspicious.

Kuroi didn't pay attention to the conversations taking place, but she peered around a bush when she heard shouting and the sounds of footsteps running toward Birds. She saw Gokudera holding the old man by the shirt, getting ready to punch him. But when he looked at the screen, he reluctantly let go.

Tsuna and others were given orders by Birds, and if they didn't do them, the two girls would be killed.

Everyone was in a frantic state, though, Kuroi was unsure why since she stopped listening. Then, she heard a distinct sound of a fist hitting a face. She looked up again, to find that Bianchi punched Tsuna in the face.

Still surveying the area to get the best opening to do her job, she partially heard Birds explain another task: to have the Vongola 10th stab himself with a wavy blade.

Before Tsuna was about to strike himself, odd sounds from the monitor went off. It appeared that Dr. Shamml was able to save Kyouko and her friend from one of the twins.

"You guys still forget," Birds said with triumph, "I still have one of your friends."

Before he could give the order to have Haru killed, Ootona Lambo and Ootona I-pin appeared and took out the other twin, saving Haru.

Gokudrea went up to the old man and kicked him the face, rendering him unconscious.

As Kuroi was circling around the area, she ran into a boy with a green sweater and a scarf.

"... Fuuta..." She said with no expression or emotion.

"You are..." He trailed off and stared back at Tsuna.

Just then, Bianchi called out toward Kuroi's and Fuuta's direction.

"You'd better come out, now, or we'll make you!" She shouted out to them.

"Wait- it's just me..." Fuuta walked out from behind the bushes.

Kuroi ran off in the direction toward Mukuro. She was not supposed to be seen.

She ran deeper into the forest and was able to find him. When she found him she hooked onto his arm and explained, vaguely, what happened.

"Mukuro-sama... M.M. and Birds have been eliminated," Kuroi said with no emotion, "I was unable to kill Vongola 10th. Too many people..."

"It's fine. I've decided to deal with him personally, so your job is finished for the moment," He explained.

Mukuro looked her in the eyes, "Though... You may still be of use to me... Go ahead and head back to the Cinema Room. I'll be there shortly."

Kuroi did as he ordered and ran off to the Theatre. All the while as she was running back to the building, she could hear that same voice in her head repeat the same thing over and over.

'Escape... Run away... You must...' Kuroi took notice of the voice this time, but she shrugged it off again a few seconds after realizing it was there.

When she got into the theatre room, she found Chikusa still there standing by a window.

Kuroi walked over to the couch and sat on it, awaiting for her master to return and to continue to be plagued by a faint voice in the back of her controlled mind.

[END]

* * *

YYAAAYYYYY! I've finally updated the story! I hope you guys like this one. I was even able to get it done before 2:00 a.m.! Yyaaaa! New record!

Sorry it was a bit rushed intheirs chapter. I wouldn't have been able to do much with Kuroi if I were to take things slower. What she was doing was too simple to right a few chapters about, so that's why it's a bit rushed.

Anyway tell me your favorite part and (or) quote in a review and tell me what you think as well.

I will be posting soon, but for now I'll see you in the next update!

POOF!


	7. Breaking

'Ello everyone! I hope you're enjoying my story so far! I've been having fun writing these stories. Lately I've gotten a question asking me how far the story will continue. If you have any ideas about how long you think the story should go, please tell me. I've read the enrire manga and watched the whole anime, so I know how things play out in the story.

Anyway, here's chapter 7. Enjoy!

I do not own any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters and things I've created.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Kuroi waited patiently in the Cinema Room for her master to return. She awaited there, perfectly still and extremely silent.

By this time, Tsuna and the others should be fighting there next opponent...

* * *

_[3rd Person Omniscient]_

A tall man wearing part of the Kokuyou uniform stepped up to the group. He had a giant metal ball attached to a long chain in his hands. His green hat covered his eyes.

"Let's finish this quickly," Gokudera took out his sticks of dynamite.

"It's futile," The stranger took off his hat and revealed his face, "I shall be the victor."

"It's you!" Yamamoto shouted.

"From the photograph!" Bianchi recognized the man's face.

"Rokudo Mukuro!"

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

A few more minutes passed and Mukuro returned. Kuroi instantly shot her head up as soon as she heard his footsteps.

"... Mukuro-sama..." Kuroi said distantly.

"Hmm?" Chikusa turned away from the window and looked at her.

She stood up and idly walked over to the door. She looked as if she were in a transe.

"Mukuro-sama...?" She called out for him.

'_Stop it! ... Don't call him that... Escape from him... He's using you...'_

Kuroi stopped walking and widened her eyes by a fraction. She heard the familiar voice in the back her mind.

She was unsure of what to do, and she stood there, completely vexed. Her body trembled before her and her head started to hurt. She was unable to move. Kuroi knelt down on the ground and and clutched at her head in pain. She seemed like she was going to rip her hair out, but she didn't.

"Sora..." Chikusa took a few steps toward Kuroi and gazed upon her.

"Oya~ Oya~ what's this?"

Kuroi shot her head up and saw Mukuro standing before her. Tears forming in her eyes from the pain in her skull.

"... Mukuro-... -sama..." Kuroi pleaded for him to help her.

"What's wrong with her...?" Chikusa asked, wary of the situation.

"... She's breaking..." Mukuro plainly stated, unhappy that his little toy was going into a ruined state of mind.

"... Mu-... Kuro-... Sa..ma..." She continued to plead for assistance.

Mukuro walked up to her and knelt down to her level. He reached out for her and placed his hand on her head. Within the instance of his contact with her skull, she immediately felt a remedy clouding her mind. The voice she heard ever so often was disappearing.

"There... All better," He smiled evilly and hoisted her up from the ground, "Come. Let's have you rest a bit."

Kuroi linked herself onto his arm as he lead her over to the sofa. He sat down and looked at her. He may have had a smile on his face, but he was more perplexed than happy.

Kuroi sat down next to him and leaned up against his arm. By his command to have her rest, she fell asleep.

* * *

_[3rd Person Omniscient]_

Mukuro softly touched her head.

"What happened...?" Chikusa asked.

"She was breaking away from my control. But, don't worry, she's fine now," Mukuro said watching Kuroi sleep.

"How so?"

"Little Kuroi-chan, here, aloud me access to her mind... However, she did not allow me access to all of it," Mukuro explained with a malcontent look on his face.

"So when you said that she was breaking away, you meant that she was trying to take control of her own mind and body again," Chikusa rephrased.

"Precisely. She gave me all of her mind, except her conscience," Mukuro paraphrased, "I need to have her conscience under my control, otherwise her inner thoughts will try to reclaim her mind. Since her conscience dictates what is right and what is wrong in her point of view, it will use its own definition of good and bad to persuade her to break away from me."

Mukuro looked over to the window.

"I can't have that happen," His expression was dark and sinister as he spoke.

Chikusa walked back over to the window.

"The Vongola... He stopped the iron ball..." Chikusa said as he gazed out the window in the direction of Tsuna and his group.

"The Arcobaleno fired an instantaneous shot in under 0.05 seconds," He continued, "It must have been a special bullet."

"But, if it is the last one, they've fallen completely into our trap," Mukuro mused, "Now, we're another step closer to completing our plan for the Vongola Tenth Boss."

* * *

"You won't defeat me with only half of your strength!" The more masculine Mukuro shouted.

"Come on!" Tsuna shouted.

Tsuna was in Dying Will Mode; all of his clothes were gone except for his boxers. He had an orange flame on his forehead and he seemed a lot more braver than before.

"Mukuro" threw the iron ball into the air. As it came back down to his level, he hit it in Tsuna's direction. Tsuna dodged it and ran up to him and uppercutted the man's jaw.

"Since when did he become so strong...?" Bianchi was in awe of Tsuna's abilities.

While the man was launched in the air, he turned himself around, launching the ball back at Tsuna again. Tsuna caught the ball to stop it and pushed it back at the the guy.

The force was so great, it sent him flying into rubble of a broken down building.

"You did it!" Bianchi shouted with excitement.

"Now, we can go back to Namimori," Reborn said.

However, the man stood up.

"Looks like I'll have to use my full power against you."

He threw the ball into the air and charged Tsuna. He managed to punch him in the stomach and knee him in the face, causing him to fly and skid all over the place.

"Mukuro" slammed Tsuna in the floor and allowed the iron ball drop and crush him.

"It's over."

However, Tsuna pushed the ball off of him, and stood up. Everyone was surprised that he was able to stand up after getting hurt by that attack.

"You're not a bad person," Tsuna said.

"What did you say?" He questioned him.

"That weak will of your's could never defeat my dying will."

"'Will' you say!? Don't talk as if you know me! Killing you is my true will!" He ran to attack Tsuna.

"That's a lie!"

"Shut up, kid!"

"I'll crush you with my dying will!"

Tsuna punched 'Mukuro' in the stomach, causing him to fall to his knees.

"How could I lose...?"

"When you attacked, you closed your eyes, and didn't let your iron ball complete the finishing blow. This was all because of the guilt in your heart conflicting within you."

"... I admit defeat. No wonder Rokudo Mukuro is cautious about you..."

"Eh!? But you're the one from the photograph that was taken at the prison..."

"The real Mukuro has never had his picture taken. Furthermore, he is the one that took away everything from me!"

The fake Mukuro explained his past story about how he met the real Rokudo Mukuro and what happened when he did... He explained how his life changed and how he unknowingly murdered his own family in the mafia. Just as he was about to explain the real Mukuro's true intentions, needles flew out of nowhere and struck him in the arms and chest.

"Their objective was to silence him, so that he doesn't give away any of their information," Reborn explained.

"How could they!? Are you alright!?" Tsuna ran to help the fallen man, "... What's your name? It's not Rokudo Mukuro, so what's your real name!?"

"... I ... Am... Lancia..." He could hardly speak.

"That guy... He really pisses me off. Let's go. Let's find Mukuro."

"But, we've already used up our final trump card," Reborn said.

"I know that... But... We have to do something about him!"

Everyone moved Lancia and Yamamoto out of the way and placed them under a tree.

A yellow bird flew down and circled around them.

"Hey, that's Birds's bird!" Gokudera pointed to the bird circling around them.

"Let's watch it quietly for now. It should be trained to call for comrades when its master is down," Reborn tolled everyone.

"It's going for that building!" Tsuna pointed toward the decrepit building the bird went into.

"Good. Then that must be where Mukuro and his followers are hiding."

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Kuroi shot her eyes open.

"They're here..." She informed no one in paticular.

"Kufufu~ So it seems," Mukuro smiled.

He looked down to her.

"Don't worry, they'll be dealt with," He softly patted her head, "I won't let them take my precious toy away from me. It'll spoil the fun."

Kuroi remained immobile.

'_Get out!... What's wrong with you, why won't you listen to your true self!... Excape his torment... Bring back reality... You must...'_

For once Kuroi wanted to respond to the voice and did so, _'Stop it! Stop hurting me! Who are you! Stop it!'_

_'I am neither good, nor evil. But right now, I am your savior! ... Listen to me and escape him! Now! ... Or you never will...'_

Kuroi buckled over and held her head in pain and agony. Mukuro looked at her, displeased.

"Oya~ oya~ already trying again to escape my grasp?" Mukuro touched her head again, "That should silence you for a little while longer."

As soon as he touched her, her mind felt at ease. The voice disappeared and herfind became thickly clouded. She was unable to think at all.

* * *

By this time, Tsuna and the others have already made it into the building.

They searched the area for a way to make it to the upper levels. Tsuna managed to point out an escape ladder. Before they were about to ascend the ladder, they were met with another opponent.

"It's him! The yo-yo guy!" Gokudera shouted and through bombs toward their adversary.

A large cloud of smoke shrouded the area.

"A smoke screen?" Tsuna asked.

"Juudaime, please, get out here," Gokidera demanded, "I'll take care of him from here on."

Tsuna, Bianchi and Reborn reluctantly left Gokudera behind to fight against Chickusa alone.

While Gokudera was managing himself, Tsuna, Bianchi and Reborn were able to locate the Cinema Room where Mukuro was hiding.

"I'm very happy that we could meet again," A familiar voice said.

Mukuro was sitting on a couch, located front-center stage, with a familiar child laying against him, sound asleep.

"Hey, it's that one guy I met earlier! He was also held captive here by Mukuro!" Tsuna said excitedly.

"Please, come closer. I would like to get to know you better... Vongola Tenth," He said with a smile proving to hide something.

"Eh!? How did you...?" Tsuna asked, baffled.

"You're wrong Tsuna... That is the real..." Bianchi trailed off.

"Yes, I am the real Rokudo Mukuro."

He looked over to the side; a young boy was standing there, leaning up against the wall. His eyes were lifeless.

"Fuuta!?" Tsuna exclaimed, "I've been looking everywhere for you! And what are you doing here? You know it's not safe here, so you better stand back."

Fuuta held up the end of a trident. He walked over toward Bianchi and stabbed her in the stomach.

"Bianchi! Bianchi, hold on!" Tsuna turned to Fuuta, "Fuuta, what're you doing!?"

Fuuta swung at Tsuna.

"Wah! Hey, Fuuta! Oi, what's wrong with you? Put that thing down!"

"His mind is being controlled," Reborn explained.

"No... No way! Wake up! Fuuta!"

"That's not all, Tsuna. Look over where Mukuro is... Who is that?" Reborn pointed toward the child next to Mukuro.

"Is that? No... No it can't be... Sora-chan!" Tsuna was overwhelmed.

"This is bad... This is extremely bad..."

"Kufufu~ for you, it might be," Mukuro smiled.

"What did you do to her, Mukuro?" Reborn was not happy.

"Calm down, shes just sleeping."

"Mukuro! What did you do!?" Tsuna yelled while he was still trying to avoid Fuuta's attakcs.

"Nothing that I haven't done to that little boy over there," His smile grew wider, "Though, I must say, she proved to be quite a challenge."

He stroked her hair when it seemed that she was in pain. As soon as he touched her, she was at ease.

"Leave her alone! Don't touch her!" Tsuna commanded.

"Please, don't shout. Kufufu~ After all, you wouldn't want to wake her up," He laughed.

"Aahh! Reborn, what do I do?"

Reborn lashed a whip out at Tsuna, and it wrapped around his neck, pulling him to the ground.

"I borrowed this from Dino. Use it to fight," He simply tolled him.

"But, I can't attack Fuuta!"

"What will you do now, Tenth Boss of the Vongola?" Mukuro was amused by the situation.

Tsuna headed straight for Mukuro. He pulled the whip back and tried to lash it, however he tied himself and Fuuta up in it.

"Kuahahahaha. You surprise me, as always," Mukuro laughed, "Oh, look, you better watch your back... It's dangerous."

Tsuna knocked the trident over so that Fuuta couldn't reach it.

"Stop it, Fuuta!"

However, Fuuta was able to grab the trident and tried to stab Tsuna with it.

"It's not your fault," Fuuta halted his attack, "None of it is your fault. We are all on your side. You don't need to worry, come home with us."

"Tsuna-nii..." Fuuta collapsed.

"So, you've managed to break him out of my control..." Mukuro still had the creepy smile plastered to his face.

Mukuro explained the situation; how and why he got the possession of Fuuta and what he was planning to use him for.

Tsuna tried to attack Mukuro, but was unsuccessful and received many cuts all over his body. Mukuro's right eye switched symbols and an indigo flame lit on the same eye. Tsuna thought it was a dying will flame when it was actually an aura. To explain things further, Mukuro tolled them about the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Mukuro hit the floor with his trident and the floors started crumbling, pieces lifted into the air. Tsuna started panicking, but Reborn hit him across the face, snapping him back into reality. Reborn, then, explained that what he saw was an illusion.

Mukuro called forth snakes to surround Tsuna, which, being the coward he is, he panicked... Again.

However, bombs were thrown toward the snakes, prompting an explosion.

"Juudaime, take cover!" A familiar voice, none other than Gokudera, called, "Sorry I'm late."

"Gokudera-kun! H-Hibari-san!?" Tsuna was happy to see them.

"Do you understand, Mukuro? There's no reason why I would be bringing up Tsuna alone," Reborn smiled.

"Now, we're even," Hibari dropped Gokudera.

Hibbari walked over and picked up his tonfas and faced Mukuro.

"Are you ready to die, now?" Hibari was furious and seething with enough rage to only think about biting Mukuro to death.

"Kufufu~ Well, you see..." Mukuro laughed, "I haven't put all my pieces into play, yet."

Kuroi's eyes instantly shot open.

"Care to see how you'll do against my adorable, little toy?"

Everyone looked over at Kuroi.

"Your turn, my Kuroi-chan... Have fun..." Mukuro smiled evilly, "This will be over soon enough."

Kuroi got up from the couch and walked over to the edge of the stage. Her dull, soulless eyes gazed upon the setting brought before her.

"Sora!" Gokudera shouted.

"Sora-chan!?" Tsuna was horrified.

Hibari and Reborn looked at her, and, judging by their expressions, they were entirely pissed off.

Mukuro took off the end of the trident and tossed it over to her. Without even blinking, she caught the trident in her right hand.

"Oi, stupid girl, what're you doing?" Gokudera shouted at her.

She said nothing and and headed for Tsuna.

"H-Hey, Sora-chan..." Tsuna started backing up.

"She can't hear you..." Reborn said, "Her mind is being controlled."

"Again? C'mon, Sora-chan, snap out of it! Please!"

Gokudera tried to get close to her, "Oi, Sora, stop this-"

Kuroi swung at him and nearly missed. Her eyes fixated on him, and Gokudera could only gawk at her.

"What do we do!?"

"It seems that you won't be able to break her away from me as easily as you did with Fuuta," Mukuro boasted, "Such a shame."

Hibari glared at Mukuro and started to go after him, but Kuroi jumped in his way. Hibari starred at her wide-eyed.

"Kufufu~ She's mine now, and you won't be able to change that," Mukuro continued to laugh and mock.

Kuroi attacked Hibari, though he was able to dodge her. She continued to attack him relentlessly.

"Hibari-San! ... Sora-chan, stop this!" Tsuna tried to get her to listen.

Tsuna thought about Fuuta and how he was able to save him from the mind control. But, he didn't know what to say to Kuroi that would get her to stop.

Then, Tsuna remembered that Kuroi was supposed to be protected by Hibari. He knew that she grew attached to him, because of the way she acts around him. So, it had to be Hibari to break the transe.

"Hibari-san! Say something to her! Na- I mean... She needs to hear something that would trigger her mind to take back control. Tell her something that she wants to hear. She needs your help!" Tsuna explained.

"What are you talking about, Herbivore?" Hibari didn't seem to understand it at all, and Kuroi continued to attack him.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Kuroi was in no control of her mind, and being away from Mukuro for so long was allowing her mind to clear up, but it also triggehurts sharp pain run throughout her skull.

'_What are you doing?... Attacking the one person who's job is to protect YOU!?... What's wrong with you?...'_ The voice in her head continued.

Kuroi was able to answer back, _'What are YOU talking about!? He's the enemy! He's trying to hurt me! They all are! They're all after me! They all hate me! Why do they hate me!? Why does everyone hate me!? Why!? Why!? WHY!?'_

Her mind was falling into ruins.

'_They do not hate you... Listen to them... They are trying to help you... They are trying to help us...'_

_'No they're not! They don't want to help me! They want to kill me!_'

Kuroi was in a state of self-confliction. Everyone around her could see that. Mukuro's smile even disappeared, and Hibari was just confused as to what he was witnessing.

'_THEY'RE ALL TRAITORS!'_

_'No they aren't!'_

_'STOP IT! STOP CONFUSING ME!_'

By this time, Kuroi stopped attacking and was curled up on the floor, screaming in pain while everyone watched her, too stunned to do anything.

"What's going on?" Gokudera asked.

"She's trying to break free..." Reborn said.

Kuroi was in a state of confusion. She was so destroyed inside, she couldn't think straight. All of the thoughts that Mukuro injected into her mind tampered and poisoned what she truly believed in, shrouding herself from the truth of what the reality is.

'_STOP IT! JUST GO AWAY! ALL OF YOU, JUST GO AWAY! ALL OF YOU... JUST- JUST-'_

"GO TO HELL!"

A concussive mass of black and red colored flames circled around her and expanded out to everyone, lifting up boards on the floor and tearing through walls and windows. Everyone was knocked off their feet as the flames hit them.

"What was that!?" Tsuna asked terrified.

"She's finally awakened her power," Mukuro said.

"What...!?"

"It's her own Dying Will Flame... But, in her case, it would be called the Hell Flame," Reborn explained.

"What's a Hell Flame?"

"I'll be able to tell you soon enough, but for now, just know that it's a rare flame."

"But, can she control it...?" Gokudera was laying on the floor from when the flame hit him.

"Who knows..." Reborn said.

Kuroi was on her knees, gripping at her hair, her eyes wide and filled with tears. The black and red flames illuminated around her as she screamed in agony. Large cracks and holes in the floor were beginning to form.

"Hibari," Reborn said, "She will only listen to you. You must do something."

Hibari looked at Reborn and looked at Kuroi long and thoughtfully, trying to figure out what he would need to do.

Kuroi was continuing to scream in horrible pain as footsteps approached her. Then all of a sudden, two firm hands gripped both of her wrists and pulled them off of her head. She looked up to see a certain prefect kneeling before her.

She went into a fit of rage and tried to attack him, the flame around her becoming more violent and deadly, destroying the floorboards around her. She was unable to hit him, though, since her wrists were in Hibari's tight grip. She looked at him with her dull eyes that were wide and filled with tears of confusion and hatred.

"JUST GO TO HELL!" She continued to scream and hung her head down.

"..." He closed the gap more between them so that he was eye level with her.

"GO TO HELL! JUST GO-"

"Sora Kuroi..." Her eyes went wide and her rage disappeared as she flicked her head back up to look at him, "... If you ever speak to me again with that kind of tone, I will bite you to death."

"That's all he has to say!?" Tsuna was shocked.

"Shut up and watch," Reborn scolded him.

Kuroi went into frenzy as her mind was clearing her tampered thoughts away. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to process everything. Then it clicked.

"Hi... Ba..ri..." Kuroi's flame died down, her eyes returned its beautiful, bright gold and she fell unconscious into Hibari's arms.

* * *

_[3rd Person Omniscient]_

"He.. He did it!? Is she alright now!?" Tsuna asked.

"I believe so..." Reborn said.

"Kufufu~ Kuahahahaha! So you've managed to break my special toy... I guess that means I'll have to break you!" Mukuro was unhappy, yet he had a sadistic smile stretched across his face.

Hibari carried Kuroi over to Gokudera and gave her to him to take care of, and turned to Mukuro.

"I will bite you to death for the crimes you've committed against Namimori," Hibari raised his tonfas.

"This will be over in an instant," Mukuro said smugly as he reattached the end of the trident to his staff.

The two went into a clash between metal and metal; tonfas against a trident. The fight was going by so fast, it was hard to tell what was happening.

"How long does your instant last?" Hibari evoked.

Unfortunately, though, Hibari was struck with the trident on his shoulder and was now bleeding heavily. In order to finish him off, Mukuro summoned Sakura down to stun Hibari.

Hibari fell forward, but as he fell, he swung his tonfa at Mukuro, catching him by surprise. Mukuro was hit back and fell hard to the floor.

"Heh... Too naive. I got the prescription for Sakura-kura disease from Shammal before we came," Gokudera felt accomplished.

Mukuro was rendered unconscious.

"The Sakura were an illusion! In other words... This means..." Tsuna was baffled.

"He snatched all the good scenes..." Gokudera pouted.

"It's all over, now. And you were completely useless," Reborn smiled.

"We can go home..." Tsuna was overjoyed, "Nah~ wait- what happened to Sora-chan?"

"She's unconscious right now. I'm sure she'll be fine," Gokudera said as he held her.

*_THUD*_

"Hibari-san! What's wrong!? Are you alright?" Tsuna and Gookudera ran over to Hibari who fell on the floor.

"He's just exhausted, is all," Reborn walked over to them, "He was fighting unconsciously for about halfway through. The first fight must've been quite vexing for him."

"Hibari-san's incredible!" Tsuna was impressed, "Though, we should call an ambulance for everyone."

"There's no need," Reborn reassured, "The Vongola medical team is already on its way."

"That's great!"

"There's no need for a medical team," Mukuro sat up pointing a gun toward everyone, "Because, nobody will be leaving here alive."

"You bastard!" Gokudera yelled.

However, Mukuro redirected the gun and pointed it at himself.

"Arrivedeci."

_*BANG*_

[END]

* * *

Wow this was a long ass chapter! Hope you guys loved it. I had a lot of fun writing it!

This chapter was a lot longer than I thought it would be. And sorry if the beginning seemed a little rushed. I was too excited to get to Kuroi's POVs.

Tell me what you think in a review and let me know what your favorite part and (or) quote was. Thanks everyone.

I will update soon, but for now, I will see you in the next update!

POOF!


	8. Omega

So it seems that things are getting more interesting and more extreme. Lovely. I tried to make this chapter not have so much filler in it... I fricking hate fillers. Anyway, I hope you guys have been enjoying my story so far.

Here is chapter eight. Enjoy!

I do not own any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters I have created.

* * *

_[3rd Person Omniscient]_

"... He really did it..." Gokudera and Tsuna were equally confused as to why Mukuro shot himself.

"He probably thought that he would rather die than be captured," Reborn thought out loud.

"How depressing..."

Seconds later, Bianchi woke up from her unconscious state.

"Finally," Bianchi said as she sat up, "We've defeated Mukuro."

"Aneki!" Gokudera was surprised to see that his sister was alright, but was happy about it none the less.

"Thank goodness Bianchi has regained consciousness," Tsuna headed over to her.

"Hayato, lend a hand to your sister, won't you...?" She pleaded.

Tsuna seemed to sense that there was something off about her, but didn't know what.

"Do I have to? Just... Just for today, alright?" Gokudera placed Kuroi down, whom he had been holding on behalf of Hibari, and reluctantly walked over to Bianchi to assist her.

"No, Gokudera! Don't go closer!" Tsuna shouted at him out of impulse and was perplexed as to why he said it.

"What's wrong? Won't you lend me a hand, too...?" She asked innocently.

Gokudera got close enough to her to help her up.

"Sorry about this, Hayato," Bianchi said with a creepy smile.

"Alright, give me your hand," He reached down with his hand for her to grab onto to hoist herself up.

"Okay."

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Kuroi could feel her tampered thoughts escaping from her mind, and that set her at ease. She was able to think more clear. She was happy that she was even aloud to think at all. Her time with Mukuro was unpleasant and threatening to her body, her mind and her friends.

However, she could never fully escape him; memories and visions will plague her for a long while.

Just as her mind had calmed down, she felt an odd disturbance. She felt as if there was something evil still present in the area. Kuroi felt this way before whenever she'd wait for Mukuro and, before he'd even enter the building, she could sense his presence. This feeling she felt now... Was all too familiar...

"... Alright, give me your hand," She could hear Gokudera approach Bianchi.

"Ok."

Kuroi instantly shot her eyes open.

"NO, DON'T!" She shouted as she sat up to face the remaining conscious people.

"Huh? Ah! Sora-chan! You're awake!" Tsuna was ecstatic that she was fine.

Kuroi witnessed Bianchi nearly slice her brother's face with the end of Mukuro's trident. Just the sight of Mukuro's weapon, made her head hurt.

"What are you doing!?" Gokudera exclaimed.

"Bianchi!?" Tsuna questioned her actions.

Bianchi went into an act of innocence. When Reborn tried to snap her out of it, she attacked him, as well.

Kuroi knew it wasn't Bianchi at all. Her appearance was just a hoax, concealing what was trully beneath it.

"Get away ... From her!" Kuroi warned as she dizzily stood up, "She's being ... Controlled!"

Kuroi was having a hard time thinking, seeing, and moving because of how nauseous she was. As soon as she got up, she fell forward on her knees, her head swaying as she sat there.

"Sora-chan! Are you alright!?" Tsuna ran up to her.

"Keep her away from Bianchi..." Reborn commanded.

"Could it be... Mind control!?" Gokudera was still sitting on the floor from when she attacked him.

"No, it's different. It looks like she's being possessed by something," He paraphrased.

"It's... Uuunn... Him," Kuroi said with disgust emanating from the sound of her voice when she spoke.

"... It can't be... Rokudo... Mukuro...?" Tsuna guessed at what might be possessing Bianchi.

"Kufufu~," She laughed, "So, we meet again."

Bianchi held her head up to reveal a red eye with a symbol in it replacing her own.

"It's him!"

"It's a curse!"

"That's impossible. It shouldn't exist..." Reborn thought out loud to himself.

Kuroi immediately got up, and backed away. She wasn't afraid, but she was in no condition to fight him. Besides, the closer she got to him, the more pain in the back of her skull would emerge. Either way, she couldn't nor wouldn't go near the devilish being.

Kuroi looked at her surroundings and saw Hibari unconscious, dirtied, beaten up and bleeding on the floor. Her eyes went wide and she ran over to him, swaying as she did so and trying her best not to fall.

"Hibari!" She rushed his name.

She walked like a drunk man as she hurried over to him. When Kuroi finally reached him, she collapsed next to his side. Kuroi pushed at his shoulder closest to her and quietly, yet urgently, said his name.

"Hibari!... Hibari, wake up! ... Please? ..." She continued to push him, but she received no response.

She leaned over him and rested the side of her head down on his shoulderblade, tears lightly streamed down her face. She remembered what she said to him. The awful things she said. And yet, he still saved her from her own mind.

"Hibari... I'm.. Sorry... I'm sorry, Hibari..." She faintly said to him.

She stared at his features for a bit and looked over his face. She took in every scratch, bruise, cut and blood stain. She slowly rose her hand and gently touched his bangs that hung in his face. Kuroi softly and slowly ruffled his hair and cried salty tears.

She stayed locked and fixated on him so much and for so long, she forgot about Mukuro and the others. Kuroi lost track of time and any action taking place. She didn't care, though, she just wanted to stay with Hibari. She repented for what she did. Kuroi wanted to atone for her past actions, so she waited for him to wake up.

Then, she felt the same presence as before again. Kuroi looked up and saw Bianchi standing in front of her with the end of the trident in her hand.

"Mukuro..." Kuroi was not ecstatic to see him in Bianchi's body.

"Hello my dear, Kuroi-chan," Bianchi smiled.

"Leave him alone!" Kuroi unsteadily got in between Bianchi and Hibari.

Bianchi took a step closer to her. Kuroi took a step back and fell backwards, next to Hibari. As Bianchi got closer, Kuroi became defensive and covered Hibari with her body to protect him.

"Kufufu~ it's useless," Bianchi picked Kuroi up by her hair and held the trident up to her neck.

"No! Stop! Leave her alone!" Tsuna pleaded.

"Kufufu~ she's useless to me anyway," Bianchi threw her to the side, "Besides, she was too much of hassle to even control her mind."

She walked over to Hibari and with the trident in her hands, she swiped it across his face.

"Hibari!" Kuroi shouted

Bianchi fell to the floor and Hibari stood up.

"No..." Kuroi was horrified to see Mukuro possess his body.

"No way...! He's gotten into Hibari-san, too!" Tsuna was frightened.

Hibari charged at Tsuna and hit him in the face with his tonfas. However, after he hit him, Hibari collapsed to the floor.

"Hibari...?" Kuroi took a few steps forward.

"Oya~? This body can't be used anymore. He could actually fight like this. What a frightening man, Hibari Kyoya," He said as he tried to stand back up, but the body fell back down to the floor.

"Ah! Mukuro's disappeared from him...!"

"Hibari!" Kuroi tried to run to him, tripping and stumbling as she did so.

She sat down next to him and hugged him tightly. Kuroi didn't want him to be continuously hurt by Mukuro. She wanted to protect him at all costs. She kept her eyes tightly shut and only thought about Hibari. She thought about the fun times they've had together, well, fun for her. She remembered how short of a time she's known him and how fast she's grown so attached to him. She's never really had a friend like him before. Even though he may not consider her a friend, she still believes he is one to her.

Kuroi could hear shouting and explosions, but she didn't care. She didn't want to see anymore horrific sites. She just wanted to go home.

Then, a flash of green caused Kuroi to wake up out of her daydream. She looked around and saw odd, thin, green, tentacle-like things extending from the center of a giant green orb that suspiciously resembled Leon.

She looked at the people around her. It seems that Mukuro was able to possess not only Bianchi, but Gokudera, Ken and Chikusa as well. The four of them were tearing apart the green tentacles that touched every inch of the room.

Just as they finished, two gloves shot out from Leon and landed on Tsuna's face.

"These are... Woolen gloves!? Why!?" Tsuna thought they were of no use.

"Just put them on," Reborn ordered him.

Tsuna put the gloves on just as Ken was about to strike him with the trident. Tsuna rose his hand in defense, causing Ken to hit the glove instead. Tsuna was pushed back a bit, but he was fine. He took off the glove and a bullet fell out of it.

"A bullet!?" He said in surprise.

Reborn took the bullet from Tsuna.

"I've never seen this bullet before," He said, "We'll just have to shoot it and see what happens."

"I won't let you!" Gokudera shouted as he threw bombs at Tsuna.

"Tsuna!" Kuroi screamed.

Kuroi instantly drowned out all noise and focused on Tsuna. She concentrated on finding out if he was really breathing. She didn't pay attention to Mukuro.

Then, Chikusa started heading over to him. He rose the trident and struck down.

However, Tsuna awakened and grabbed the trident just before it hit him. His gloves started glowing and then suddenly turned into thick, metal gloves with an "X" on them.

"Mukuro... If I don't defeat you... Even if I'm dying, I won't give up!"

Tsuna's forehead lit up with an orange flame and his eyes turned into a bright, orange color.

"Tsuna...?" Kuroi was puzzled and called out his name out of shock.

His demeanor was so different from before. He was no longer afraid of Mukuro; he did not run away, his expression was fearless and his pose showed no signs of fleeing.

"I see... You were hit by the special bullet, after all," Chickusa said, "But, you seemed a lot more fired up in the fight with Lancia earlier..."

"The Rebuke bullet brings out the calm fighting will in Tsuna," Reborn explained, "It's a completely new bullet- different from the Dying Will Bullet- with a totally new hidden power."

"Pfft. All I see is a person who's lost his fighting will or a spirit which has sunk into despair. Either way, you're no match for my skills."

While Chikusa was rambling on, Kuroi noticed that Ken was sneaking up behind Tsuna. When she was about to call him out, Ken lunged for him. However, Tsuna halted the attack by grabbing his face and then elbowing him.

"This is an illusion," Tsuna said as he stood in place.

Kuroi didn't understand what he was talking about; she didn't see anything but him standing there.

Then she remembered Mukuro talking to her about illusions when she went to save Hibari and when she first met Mukuro. He tolled her that she could already see through his illusions, so he wouldn't try them on her... So does that mean that she can't see illusions...?

Kuroi's mind was starting to hurt from confusion.

She looked up and saw Bianchi and Gokudera beating Tsuna, whom of which seemed to be taking the punches and not fighting back.

Kuroi wanted to get up to go help Tsuna, but she knew she couldn't fight. Besides, she didn't want to leave Hibari, either. When she looked back up, she saw he had stunned their bodies, and sat them down gently on the ground.

Tsuna looked toward the side, "Show yourself, Mukuro. You're still alive, aren't you?"

"Kufufu~"

Kuroi's head started to hurt in agonizing pain, and she fell into Hibari's back. She clutched at his shirt and mumbled small screams.

She looked over at Mukuro and saw odd veins on one side of his body while the other side was covered in blood. A murderous aura surrounded him.

She buried her face back into Hibari's shirt and screamed louder. His presence was destroying her mind.

Kuroi could hear the fighting going on between them. She could hear Mukuro boasting and Tsuna's shouts of pain. When she was able to glance at them, Tsuna was launched at the wall. He seemed alright, though, since he got back up.

"If that was the extent of your power, I am very disappointed," Tsuna touched his gloves to his head where the flame burned.

The gloves caught the flame and burned the same color as the flame on his forehead.

Mukuro ran to attack him. He swing his trident's staff downward on him, but Tsuna caught it and melted the metal.

The two continued in combat. Tsuna swerved around him with lightning speed to hit him from behind. Mukuro was able to block the attack at the last possible second.

"Are you done warming up?" Tsuna asked calm and collectively.

"Kufu~... Kuahahahaha!" Mukuro seemed delighted, "All of this is just a miscalculation. If I can get your body, I won't even need to gather resources to cause a conflict within the mafia because I can barge directly into the family. I would have used my dear Kuroi-chan to help spark a fire in the mafia, but she is too strong willed to give up her mind and it's too much of a hassle to keep control of her's. But, she could still be an asset..."

"So your goal is to create a conflict within the mafia?" Reborn asked him.

"Kufufu~ No. I'm not petty like that," He smiled, "I plan to possess the VIPs from all over the world soon. Then, I'll control them and change this ugly world into a beautiful sea of blood. A World War... Does that sound too fake? But the first has got to be the mafia... The annihilation of the mafia."

"Mon...ster..." Kuroi choked out.

Mukuro looked at her and she flinched.

"I'm not a monster, my dear Kuroi-chan; I am a savior," He smiled maliciously.

"Why are you so fixated on the mafia?" Reborn asked him.

"I really don't plan on talking any further..."

Kuroi could tell he was going to use another illusion on Tsuna, however she only saw rocks heading his way.

"Another illusion."

*BAM*

The rocks that he threw hit him.

"Don't underestimate illusions, Dame~ Tsuna. He hid stones in it," Reborn chided.

"Got it..." Tsuna said as he held his head in pain.

Mukuro came charging in with his staff. The two of them exchanged in such fast combat, Kuroi was getting dizzy again from just watching it. Then, Tsuna punched Mukuro in the face, knocking him down to the ground, creating a gigantic crater in the floor.

"Kufufufu~ so this is the Tenth Vongola. The man who defeated me," Mukuro stated hoarsely.

Kuroi thought that there was something odd about him. He seemed he was up to something...

"Kill me. If I were to be caught by you mafia, I'd rather die."

"... I can't do that..." Tsuna turned away.

"Tsuna! Look out!" Kuroi called.

Immediately after Tsuna turned, Mukuro got up and restrained his arms. She knew he was up to something. He was faking his injury.

As Mukuro held Tsuna's arms, he continuously beat him. When he was done with his fun, he kicked him toward the trident that was wedged between a crack in the wall.

"Kufufufu~... There's no way you can defend yourself in mid-air. You'll die because of that ridiculous kindness of your's."

"Go, Tsuna. Show him the power of the X-Gloves, now!" Reborn enthused.

Tsuna's gloves produced a huge flame. He positioned his gloves behind him so that the force of the flame would hover him over the trident so that he would not hit it. With the power of the flame, he launched himself at Mukuro. He grabbed his face and pushed him into the floor, knocking Mukuro out doing so.

"No... Way..." Kuroi was estonished at what she saw, "So strong..."

"Mukuro's dark aura has been purified by the Dying Will Flame," Reborn explained, "It's over."

"Yeah..." Tsuna's flame went out and his eyes went back to normal, "He's not dead, right!?"

"Don't go any closer!"

Kuroi averted her attention to the familiar voice. It was Ken. Him and Chikusa were crawling in Tsuna's direction.

"You mafia, don't touch Mukuro-san!" He continued to shout.

"Why... Why do you do so much for Mukuro? After all he's done to you. He's possessed you and used you..." Tsuna was horrified that the two were still sticking with Mukuro after what he did to them.

"Don't speak as if you know anything..." Chickusa said.

"For us, this is nothing- byon," Ken explained, "Compared to our suffering back then."

"What happened?" Kuroi was serious and wanted to know.

"We were guinea pigs for human testing by our own family," He said with disgust.

Ken explained what the Estraneo Family, the family they were once apart of, did to them. They preformed experiments on them to create a special weapon that no one in the world has invented yet. All of what the family did was to get their fallen glory back. Ken explained that Mukuro saved them from that miserable life and gave them a chance to live.

"We can't have you destroy that!" Ken concluded.

Suddenly, the doors to the Cinema Room flung open.

"Who are they...?" Kuroi asked out of suspicion.

"The medical staff, I presume," Reborn answered

Chains lashed out from the figures in the doorway and locked around Ken's, Chikusa's and Mukuro's necks. Tall figures dragged their bodies closer to them. They were all wearing black and had white bandages covering their faces.

"What a quick appearance," Reborn stated nonchalantly, "Vindice."

"What are the Vindice?" Tsuna asked him.

"They are the enforcer of the commandments in the mafia world and they trial those who cannot be trailed by law."

"What're you doing!?" Kuroi asked them.

"Don't try to stop them. It will be troublesome to get involved with them... Just leave them alone."

"What will happen to those three?" Tsuna wondered.

"Their crime will be put on trial and they'll be punished."

"What kind of punishment?" Kuroi asked.

"Who knows? But it won't be light..."

People dressed in white doctor's outfits came in with gurneys.

"The medical team has finally arrived," Reborn stated.

A few people came up to Kuroi, causing her to go into a defensive position over Hibari.

"Are you hurt, Miss?" One of them asked.

She felt relieved to see them. To see someone help them. Kuroi was so relieved, her mind went at ease. So much as to shut down her thoughts. With that done, she rested her head on Hibari's shoulderblade and fell unconscious...

* * *

_[3rd Person Omniscient]_

"Reborn... I still don't understand..." Tsuna looked over at Kuroi, "... What was that flame we saw earlier? ... And her Ring, what is it? Why did Mukuro want her in the first place, and what-... What is her power...?"

"... That flame you saw earlier is similar to the Dying Will Flame... It has the same purpose, but for a different reason. And as I've said before, it is called the Hell Flame, but is also known as... the Black Sky Flame. There is a reason as to why she possesses such a flame and such a ring, but you are too young and underdeveloped to understand..."

"But... Reborn?"

"Don't worry, it'll all make sense soon."

[END OF KOKUYOU ARC]

* * *

Yyyaaayyyy! I finally finished the Kokuyou Arc. I think I'm gonna write some happy chapters until we kick into the next Arc.

And, yes, I will do more Hibari & Kuroi relationship development, don't worry.

Let me know what you think in a review and tell me your favorite part and (or) quote.

Until next time, I will see you in the next update.

POOF!


	9. Regret

Okay, so I finished the Kokuyou Arc, yyyaayyyy! Now, because of all the depressing things that just happened, I'm going to continue the story in a little bit of a 'Daily Life'. If you remember, the Daily Life Arc timeline starts a month later when everyone's better and they're at a baseball game and Mukuro possesses a little boy. Then, it goes into a year later, where everyone graduates to the next grade, but Hibari stays behind because he can do what he wants. This part of the story I'm writing takes place in between that time until I feel like continuing into the Varia Arc.

So here is chapter nine. Enjoy!

I do not own any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters and things I have created.

* * *

_[Two Days Later]_

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Morning came and Kuroi sat up in her bed and stretched. She looked down and examined her arms; her right arm was covered in bandages and her left hand was wrapped up, as well. She felt around her face and she could feel a large band-aid on her cheek. She lifted the covers and saw one of her legs wrapped up where Mukuro had torturously dug his thumb into the wound. Her stomach, as well, was wrapped up from the puncture wound from the trident.

Kuroi took on a sullen expression, and got up out of bed. She walked over to the door and stepped out into the hallway. Kuroi headed down to the kitchen to see if Hibari was there. She looked around, but didn't see any sign of him. It was a weekend so he shouldn't be at school...

Kuroi thought about it for a minute. A smile crept onto her face and she ran off to Hibari's room. She quietly opened the door. She saw Hibari laying down in bed, sleeping soundly.

He was wrapped in bandages (most of which he constantly tried to take off) and had a sling on his left arm. She silently approached his bed and looked at him with a smile on her face.

"What are you doing?" He asked her, but he didn't open his eyes.

Suddenly, she pounced onto his bed. Though, she avoided hitting him.

"What are you doing?" He repeated and opened his eyes in displeasure.

"Saying 'Hello'," Kuroi smiled at him.

"Get off."

Kuroi rolled off to the side of the bed. Hibari sat up and leaned against the headboard.

"Why are you here?" He looked at her out of the corners of his eyes.

"I- ... Um.. I thought we could do something together..." She said nervously.

Hibari closed his eyes, "No."

Kuroi looked down, depressed that he declined her. She got off the bed and walked out of the room.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari]_

He watched her walk out of the room. He took notice of all the injuries on her body. He looked down at his own bandages on his arms. Hibari got up and grabbed a change of casual clothes to change into. He walked out of his room and headed down to the bathroom to get cleaned up and dressed.

When he was done, he checked himself out in the mirror. He looked at all of the bandages. Disapproved of their existence, he tore most of them off.

Hibari walked out of the bathroom and headed down to the kitchen for breakfast. By the time he finished eating, Kuroi came down to the kitchen. Hibari observed her features. She wore an old, red T-shirt that was way too big for her. It hung off the edge of her shoulder and went down to her knees.

Hibari hung down his head and closed his eyes in disaprovement.

"What are you wearing...?" He kept his head down.

"Haven't I told you, before? And what's up with you, you seem annoyed...?" She asked him with her head cocked to the side.

"... It's Nothing..." He cleaned up his dishes and turn back to Kuroi, who was getting a muffin while eyeing the bananas, "Let's go."

"To where?" She said with her mouth full of muffin and her eye contact remaining on the bananas.

"I have work to do," He said as he walked over to the door.

"That's not an answer to 'where', that's 'why'," She corrected him.

He turned and gave her an irritated glance.

"Let's go, now," He demanded.

"Alright, alright, I'm going," She hurriedly put her socks on and tied her hair up with ribbons into twintails, that were still uneven in length.

"Hurry up," He rushed her.

"I'm trying," Kuroi ran up to him.

Hibari opened the door and allowed Kuroi to go first. As she ran past him, he eyed her and noticed that she seemed to have a playful demeanor. He didn't know what they were going to do today, he just wanted to be out of the house. He took his wallet with him, just in case. He looked down at Kuroi again and remembered that she was wearing awful clothing and no shoes...

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Kuroi was happy to get out of the house to do something with Hibari. She walked along the curb, balancing herself on it and trying hard not to fall. She followed Hibari at a close distance; she was right next to him the whole time.

Kuroi looked up at him and saw a few of the bandages. Her joyful mentality, dropped to a more melonchaly tone.

Hibari looked at her through the corners of his eyes, "What?"

"Nothing..." Kuroi turned her head away from him and looked down at her feet.

Hibari remained fixated on her for a few seconds longer before he shifted his attention forward.

Kuroi was lying to him. It wasn't 'nothing'. Looking at his injuries made her think of the torment he was put through. She didn't like knowing that one of her friends was in pain, nor did she like to see it. She wondered if he ever heard her apologize to him that one day as he laid unconscious...

"Hey, we're here."

Kuroi looked up and saw shops all around them. Then, she noticed how crowded it all was and she tensed up.

Hibari took a few steps forward before he seemed to have realized that she was not following.

"Hey, Come on," He called to her.

Kuroi couldn't move. The sound of all the people there made her head hurt and she became extremely nervous.

"Let's go," A firm hand grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her along.

She looked at her wrist, which was in a tight grip, and then looked at the owner of it and the one pulling her along.

"...Hibari...?" She managed to say.

He glanced at her, but he just kept moving.

Kuroi returned her gaze to her wrist in his hand. She was surprised that he would actually make contact with her. Though, she wasn't complaining, she was actually happy. All of the tension in her mind and body disappeared by his touch. It was nice to know that he cared for her in some way. If she had been someone else that he just met, he would've kept walking. He wouldn't have turned back to go get the person. Kuroi was happy that he seemed to be warming up to her.

After a few minutes of walking, they stopped in front of a small clothing shop. There weren't many people in there, so Kuroi felt at ease, but she was confused as to why they were there in the first place.

"... Um... I thought you said you had work to do...? Or, do you work here?" Kuroi asked him as she examined the store.

"I don't work here," He bluntly stated.

Kuroi looked around and noticed that everything seemed to be suited for children and pre-teens.

"So, why are we-..." Kuroi turned to look at him, but he wasn't there.

"Ah! Hibari!" Kuroi found him sitting on a bench facing the store they were in before, reading a small book, "Why are we here?"

He looked up from his book, "You need clothes and shoes, don't you?"

Kuroi looked down at her shoeless feet, "... Um... I guess so..."

"Then, go buy some clothes."

"But..." She looked at the store anxiously, and then turned back to Hibari, "I... I don't have any money..."

"Here," He took out his wallet and gave it to her, "Don't spend it all and only buy what you need, or I'll bite you to death."

"... Sure..."

Kuroi hesitantly walked into the store and started browsing for suitable clothing that would actually fit her.

* * *

_[3rd Person Omniscient]_

"Neh~ Haru-chan? We should go to that little cake shop for a snack," Kyouko had the desire to eat some cake.

"Yes! We should," Haru agreed, "It's just down a few shops, right?"

"Yeah."

Haru and Kyouko walked down Naimori Shopping District. They were almost finished with their shopping when they decided to go eat some cake as a snack. As they walked down the busy street, Kyouko noticed Hibari sitting on the bench, reading.

"Ah! Isn't that Hibari-san? What's he doing here in a place like this? Surely it's too crowded for him..." Kyouko wondered.

"Hahi~ It is him!" Haru finally noticed him.

The two girls walked over to him.

"Hello, Hibari-san," Kyouko greeted cheerfully.

"Hn?" Hibari looked up from his book.

"What brings you to a place like this. I thought you didn't like crowds," She smiled.

"I don't," He said deadpanned.

"Hahi~? So then... Why are you here?" Haru asked.

Hibari turned his head towards Kuroi, prompting Haru and Kyouko to do the same.

"Oh, is that Kuroi-chan?" Kyouko looked at the small, raven-haired girl with a red shirt.

"Yes."

"What is she doing in there by herself?" Haru asked.

"Buying clothing."

"Hahi~!? She shouldn't have to do that by herself! Haru shall go help her! C'mon Kyouko-chan, let's help her!" Haru dragged Kyouko into the clothing department store.

Hibari was annoyed by them and went back to reading his book.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Kuroi didn't know where to start. She looked at all the clothes, but didn't understand what would be good to buy. She was overwhelmed.

"Hi, Kuroi-chan."

Kuroi turned around and saw two girls standing before her.

"How... Do you..." Kuroi was baffled.

"Oh- Tsuna-san told us about you. You're a friend of Hibari's," Haru said, "I am Miura Haru"

"I'm Sasagawa Kyouko," The orange-haired said pleasantly.

"You're friends of Tsuna?" She asked them.

"Yup!" They both said cheerfully.

"So... Not to be rude or anything, but, why are you both here?" Kuroi looked at them confused.

"Well, you see, we were just out shopping for today, and we decided to go eat some cake at this lovely cake shop we always visit. Then, we saw Hibari-san and he said that you were in here," Kyouko explained.

"So, we thought we should help you out. After all, we love clothes shopping!" Haru concluded.

"O-Oh..." Kuroi didn't know how to react to all of the kindness. She wasn't used to it.

"So, Kuroi-chan, what kind of clothes are you looking for? What styles do you like?" Kyouko asked.

"I... Um... It doesn't matter... Really..." Kuroi looked around the store.

Haru and Kyouko ran off to find some clothing for Kuroi that would suit her and, of course, fit her. The two girls showed her all sorts of dresses, skirts, shirts, pants and shorts. It seemed endless for Kuroi.

It took a while, but they managed to find clothes and shoes suitable for Kuroi.

All three walked out of the store. Standing near the entrance, Haru and Kyouko said their goodbyes to Kuroi. She smiled as they walked away, then she turned to Hibari, whom of which had been sucked into his novel.

She walked over to him.

"Hibari?" She called out his name.

"Are you done?" He didn't even look at her, he just kept reading as he asked her.

"Yes. Haru and Kyouko were very helpful," She said as she looked at her small bag of clothes.

Hibari stood up and looked at her.

"Oh- here's your wallet," Kuroi handed him his black wallet, "I didn't really need it. Kyouko and Haru were nice enough to not only help me, but pay as well. I tolled them that I could pay, but they insisted."

"Alright. Let's go," Hibari started walking off.

Kuroi grabbed his shirt sleeve.

"Hn?" He turned halfway and looked at her.

"... I ... Um... Never had the chance to thank you..." She smiled, but she didn't look at him. Her eyes were hidden behind her bangs and she looked at the ground.

"..." Hibari remained silent and looked at her with a vacant expression.

"... Thank you..." A single tear was visible dripping down her face.

Hibari blinked and narrowed his eyes. He's never really seen her cry before out of emotion. It surprised him. He turned his body all the way around to face her.

Kuroi's grip on him became tighter. He took a step closer to her.

"... What are you talking about...?" He asked perplexed.

"... I'm sure you know. You just don't want to admit it..." She said as she looked up at him, smiling.

"Hn...?"

"So... Shall we go, then...?" Kuroi walked passed him with a faint smile on her face.

"Hn..." He followed her down the busy street.

She still had a hold of his sleeve as they walked throughout Namimori Shopping District. Kuroi remained quiet and somber. Hibari took notice of her peculiar behavior and kept an eye on her.

By the time they got home, it was past dinner time. Kuroi remained attached to him until they got there. When they entered into the front yard of Hibari's house, she finally released him from her grasp. She walked inside and put all of her new clothes away in the closet.

When she was finished, she headed out into the living room and sat on the couch. She pulled her feet up and brought her knees to her chest and hugged her legs.

Kuroi kept thinking about the day Hibari saved her from Mukuro. She wanted to thank him properly, but she couldn't do it. Not without turning away from him in embarrassment. She didn't like believing that she was just a nuisance to Hibari. She didn't like being one either.

After a few minutes, Hibari came out and spotted her sitting on the couch in such a defensive position. Kuroi could hear him walking over to her, but she didn't pay attention to him. Then, a hand touched her shoulder, causing her to jump a little.

She looked back and saw him standing their behind her. He didn't show any signs of irritation. He actually seemed pretty mellow.

Kuroi looked away from him and put her head down on her knees. She could feel the hand lift its pressure from her shoulder and disappear. The couch's cushion next to her seemed to move. She peeked her head up and noticed he was sitting next to her. But Hbari didn't pay any attention to her, he just started reading his book from earlier.

Without thinking and acting on impulse, she moved from her spot, and shifted her position so that she could hug Hibari.

Kuroi knew that he was shocked by her act since his body went extremely tense, but she didn't care. She could feel Hibari's glare on her; an icy glare.

"... If you don't let go of me now, I will bite you to death, herbivore," He said with frustration and anger.

"No!" Kurio yelled.

"Let go, now," He repeated.

"No!"

"Release me, Herbivore!" He was losing his patience.

"No...!"

"Why?" Hibari felt that he was about to rip her arms off.

"I can't..." She choked.

"... Why...?" His anger die down a little out of shock.

"Because... Because... I need you to know..." She trailed off.

"'Know' what?"

"... I ... I need you to know.. That.. I'm sorry...! And I thank you.. For what you've done for me..."

"Why are you choosing to say this now?"

"Because I was debating on whether or not you heard me before..."

"'Before'?"

"When.. When you were fighting Mukuro... You passed out after you beat him. And.. And I felt guilty."

"..Why..?"

"Because, I couldn't do anything to help you. I know you don't like to be helped, but still... And before that; when Mukuro was beating you to nearly death and I stepped in and made it worse... I'm sorry for that... And... When I... When I tolled you to go to hell when you were trying to help me... I'm sorry... I didn't mean it... I'm sorry..."

Kuroi started to cry a little, and she could feel Hibari's body relax. His temper died down. She could tell, though, that he wasn't too comfortable with hugging.

All of a sudden, Kuroi felt a hand on top of her head. She widened her eyes, clutched at him tighter and nearly stopped breathing. She slowly looked up at him. He glared at her, but it felt different to her. It felt more natural and not murderous.

This was, really, the first time Hibari has shown affection to her, and it surprised her. She was totally caught off guard.

Kuroi looked back down and hugged him tighter, but with a small smile on her face instead of tears.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari]_

For the rest of the night, Kuroi and Hibari watched horror movies like _Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre,_ and _Halloween_. They weren't afraid of horror movies, and they wanted to kill time.

It was getting pretty late and Hibari noticed that Kuroi was starting to fall asleep. After a few minutes, she started swaying.

*_THUD*_

Hibari looked to his left and saw that Kuroi fell asleep against him. With a sigh, he got up and carried her to her room. He sat her down on the bed, but didn't bother to tuck her in or anything like that.

Exausted from the long day, Hibari headed off to his room to go to sleep.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Kuroi could hear him leaving her room. She opened her eyes to get a last glimpse of him before he left. With that being done, she closed her eyes and drifted back off to sleep with a smile planted on her face.

[END]

* * *

Wasn't that an adorable chapter!? I think it was. I told you I was going to write a fun chapter.

Anyway, tell me in a review what you think and let me know your favorite part and (or) quote.

Until next time, I will see you in the next update.

POOF!


	10. Provocation

Yyyaaaayyyy! I finally made it to my tenth chapter of Black Sky! I think I'm gonna write a couple more fun chapters and then go ahead into the Varia Arc. But for now, I shall continue with the adorableness XD And just like my other story, I will take ideas for a chapter. Just tell me what you think should happen in a chapter and don't worry I'll give you credit for it.

Here is chapter ten. Enjoy!

I do not own any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters and things I have created.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Weeks have gone by ever since the incident with Mukuro. Kuroi didn't experience her visions often anymore. Everything was fine.

Kuroi was laying on the couch upside down in her pajamas. She had the TV on and she was watching it like a hawk. She took the remote and changed the channel until she found something better to watch. While flipping through the channels, she saw something that caught her eye. She stopped on a commercial and looked at it intensely. Kuroi slowly reached over for her muffin that was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch, and took a bite out of it. As slow as molasses, she lowered her muffin on the table, never taking her eyes off the TV and still lying on her back, with her head hanging off the seat and her feet resting on top of the headrest. She watched the commercial and slowly raised the remote. She held it in the air for a few seconds longer, and then suddenly, she threw the remote at the TV.

"Gubid bamnamna*!"

*_BAM_*

The remote hit the TV, but thankfully, it didn't crack the screen. Kuroi heard Hibari's footsteps from out in the hallway and were getting closer.

"What are you doing?" He said when he turned into the room.

Kuroi glanced at the TV and then back at Hibari, "There was a spider... It's gone, now..."

"...Hn.." Hibari turned around and went back to whatever he was doing before he was interrupted.

Kuroi rolled backwards off the couch and headed up to her room. She looked around her closet and picked out an outfit that Haru and Kyouko bought for her. It was a white, short sleeved, puff shoulder blouse with long frills tied in a bow that was attached in the middle of the chest and flowed down to where the skirt started. A red, round gem with gold lining was placed in the middle of the bow to attach the bow to the blouse. The skirt was jet black satin and shined in the light. It was pulled up a little bit past her stomach and was supported with black satin suspenders. The skirt flowed down to her knees and poofed out just after where the ribbon was tied around the waist. A layer of thick, white fabric was attached underneath the skirt. A large black bow with long frills was attached to the back where the ribbon wrapped around the waist.

Kuroi put her outfit on after she was done getting cleaned up. She put black stockings on along with a white headband that had small, black frills lining it.

She ran back out to the living room and found Hibari sitting on the couch reading a book. Kuroi ran over to him and jumped on the couch.

"Neh~ Hibari?" She asked innocently.

"Hn," He mumbled and didn't pay much attention to her.

"Can we go to Namimori Park?" She asked him.

"No," He turned a page.

"... Why not?"

"I don't like going to crowded areas."

"But, you took me to the shopping district. Isn't that loud and crowded?"

"That was different. It was only necessary that time."

"... *_sigh_* Fine..."

Kuroi sat there for a few minutes and then got up. She headed over to the front door and looked back at him. She put her black dress shoes on and silently opened the front door and headed outside. She closed the door as quietly as possible behind her, and ran out the yard.

She jogged down the street, heading in the direction of the park. After a few minutes, she got lost in all the twists and turns of the neighborhood. Kuroi stopped running and observed the area. She didn't know where she was.

Just when all hope seemed lost, Kuroi spotted Gokudera walking down the street. A smile lit up on her face and she barreled down the road after him. When she was close enough, she leapt in the air and landed on Gokudera's back.

"Ha-ya-to-!" She sang.

"Nya~ W-What are you doing!? Get off me!" He shouted at her.

"Haha! I still got mad ninja skills," Kuroi teased.

"Just get off me!" He lost his temper.

Kuroi hopped down and smiled up at him.

"What's with that look?" He asked her, still annoyed by her pounce.

"What look? This is my face..." She pouted.

"Not that. Your clothes..." He gestured to her outfit.

"Oh- Kyouko and Haru bought it for me. They're really nice," She gained back her smile.

"Oh, Them, huh? ... So what are you doing here? I thought you weren't supposed to leave that bastard, Hibari's, side," Gokudera questioned her.

"Oh.. Um.. I'm not, but... I wanted to go to the park... Hibari didn't want to. He doesn't like crowds. So... I snuck out," Kuroi paraphrased the situation nervously.

"I thought you were supposed to be obedient?" Gokudera smirked.

"Well, he never said I couldn't go." She smiled back at him.

"Cheh... Smart. You find loopholes in everything, don't you?" He joked.

"I guess so, but on another note; I'm... I don't know.. Where the park is from here, heh heh..." She laughed nervously.

"It's just down the road from here," Gokudera gestured toward the park's direction.

"Oh... Well, thank you!" Kuroi smiled and ran off in the direction he pointed to.

Kuroi ran down the street and continued to her desired destination. When she finally got there, she saw that there was a lot of people there, but not too crowding.

Kuroi didn't think ahead about the crowding. She totally forgot about it and tensed up. She noticed that there was an old swing that no one was around, so she decided to head over to it.

She sat down on the swing and observed everyone's actions. She saw some kids playing around and chasing each other around. Others were socializing on a playground or messing around in a sandbox. Some of the kids seemed a little mischievous. About four or five were eyeing her... Kuroi tensed up and gripped the chains on the swing and looked down.

She knew those kids. They were all to familiar to her.

"Hey, guys, look who it is."

Kuroi focused in on them.

"What was her name? Shiro*?" A boy with spiky brown hair asked.

"No, it was something along the lines of Kuro*," Another with red hair teased.

"It's Kuroi..." She looked at them deadpanned, "My name is Sora Kuroi."

These kids were a few years older than her, and were obviously bullies to her. Kuroi remembered them fairly well. They were neighborhood kids that lived close to the orphanage. They were the ones that would abuse her the most. The children in the orphanage were cruel to her as well, but not as much as these kids were.

The one with the spiky brown hair walked up to her and gripped one of the chains above her hand and leaned closer to her.

"I almost didn't recognize you. You look so different now. Did you finally get a family?" He taunted.

"..." Kuroi didn't say anything to him. She just stared him down.

"I bet you she stole those clothes. There's no way she could afford them, they're too nice for her," A kid with black hair commented.

"I didn't steal them," She said sternly.

"Hah! Whatever, you're still a poor orphan. No matter what, you'll always be an orphan. Nobody will want to adopt you. I don't even understand why you're here. You're not welcome here and you never will be," The boy with brown, spiky hair insulted.

"Yeah, I'm sure her parents abandoned her because they never wanted her in the first place," A girl with dark brown hair laughed.

"Actually, her parents were killed in a fire, remember? Her nanny told us. She said that they died in a house fire and that everyone thinks that this little twerp did it," The red headed boy explained.

"Oh? Then I'm sure she killed them. I bet that she was so upset that her parents hated her, she killed them for vengeance," The girl with dark brown hair was smug.

Kuroi tightened her grip on the chains.

"... I ... kill ..." She murmured faintly.

"Oh my gosh! It spoke!" The red headed boy exclaimed sarcastically.

"I bet it's trying to communicate somehow," The boy with black hair said equally sarcastic.

"She's so stupid, she'll never have a family," The red head said.

"... I ... Didn't..." Kuroi was hiding her eyes behind her bangs as she held her head down.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you. Or, do you just not know how to speak properly?" The spiky, brown haired boy asked quizzically.

"... I... I... I DIDN'T KILL THEM!"

Kuroi jumped up from the swing, causing the kids to jump back away from her. Kuroi still hung her head down. Fury burning though her vains. The kids tormenting her became afraid. Though, it wasn't the fact that she stood up to them, it was the fact that her ring started glowing a red and inky, black flame that slowly started surrounding her. With that aside, the atmosphere, along with the actual environment became dark and menacing.

"You're such a freak!" One of the kids said and ran away.

"What the heck are you!?" The girl ran off as well.

"You're a weirdo, get away!" Another said and ran.

Kuroi looked up at the remaining children that were still there. When she opened her eyes... There was no color. Her eyes were black orbs. Not her iris, nor pupil were visible. The wind spontaneously picked up. Her hair and clothing blowing in the wind. The last remaining kids that tormented her witnessed her horrifying act, and not long after, they fled the area.

Kuroi took on a sinister aura. Her red and black flame consumed and swirled around her. She was beyond upset; she was infurriated.

She was going to take a step closer to them, seeking vengeance, however she hesitated...

_'What are you doing!? This isn't you! Stop!'_ Kuroi heard the same voice from before when she was being mind controlled.

'_Stop! Now! This isn't you! Please, stop!'_ The voice continued. Kuroi's flame started disappearing.

'_What... Am I...?_' Kuroi didn't finish her thought.

"What are you doing here?" A stern, recognizable voice was heard.

Kuroi turned around slowly to face the Head Prefect of the Disciplinary Committee. As her eyes became visible for him to see, they we already back to their natural gold color. The flame that emanated from her ring was entirely gone. No sign of it.

"I'm... Sorry..." She said in a daze.

Her mind was hazy. She had no idea what she was doing and why. She didn't understand what brought it on. All she knew, was that it was a dangerous situation, and what caused it were the lies that were spreaded by incompetent people.

Kuroi balled her hands into fists and lowered her head and stared in the direction of the children that abused her. After a few more seconds, she reluctantly relaxed.

She turned back to Hibari, "It's just that I wanted to go to the park is all..."

"What was that power just now?" He asked.

Kuroi's eyes widened and she shot her head up at him.

"W-What do you mean...?" She asked him nervously.

"... Nevermind..." He said and looked away.

Kuroi felt guilty that she went out without his consent. She didn't mean to make him upset.

Hibari started walking away from her. Most likely back to his home. Kuroi still wanted to play at the park, but without the bullies hindering her. Surprisingly though, Hibari actually headed over to a rather large tree and sat down beneath it and started reading again.

"Hibari...?" She was perplexed at his actions. Certainly he would rather be at his home, which is a lot less crowded and not as noisy, than being at the park with tons of people shouting and what not.

Kuroi walked over to Hibari a bit slow. When she got to his feet, he looked up at her.

"What is it?" He asked her with no emotion.

"I thought we were going home..." She was still confused.

"... Hn~ I was thinking of going home, but it feels nice out here.." He explained.

"Hibari, Hibari."

A little yellow bird that seemed to look a lot like Birds's bird flew down and landed on Hibari's shoulder and started singing the Namimori Chuu~ anthem.

"You're still off key," He said to the bird.

Kuroi walked over to the side of him where the bird was perched. She sat down and scratched the little bird's head. The bird seemed to like her touch considering it would press into her hand to be petted more.

"Haha! He's adorable! I love animals," She smiled as she petted the bird more.

Hibari just looked at her and went back to reading his novel.

For some reason, Kuroi felt extremely exhausted and started to drift off to sleep. She must've drowned out her energy when she summoned her flame. She tried to stay awake, but it wasn't easy. She leaned her body against the large tree trunk and looked up at the branches. Not long after, she fell asleep.

Because of the way she was positioned, she fell over on the ground and continued to sleep.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari]_

Hibari looked over at Kuroi. She was fast asleep on her side on the grass. Hibird flew off of his shoulders and landed on her hand and rubbed his little head against it. Hibari watched the bird as it nestled in Kuroi's open hand and fell asleep, as well.

"Hmpf..." He went back to reading his novel.

About four hours later, Hibari looked up at the sky and realized evening was beginning to settle in. He looked over to Kuroi. She was still asleep in the same position as before. He closed his book and stood up. Hibari walked over to Kuroi and tapped her with his foot to wake her up, but she didn't move a muscle. He bent down and placed his hand on her shoulder and gently shook her to wake her up. She still did not move. Hibari resulted in shaking her more violently, but she did not move even after all of that effort.

Hibari sighed and picked her up bridal style and carried her home. During his walk back to his house, Kuroi started clinging to him. She grabbed his shirt so tight, it seemed as if she would tear right through it with her fingernails. He stopped walking and looked at her. He analyzed her facial features. Her expression showed that she was in pain, but he didn't know of what. He thought that it might've been just a nightmare or just an uneasy mind. He decided to just continue onward to get home as soon as possible.

When they finally got home, he sat her down on the couch and took her shoes off to put at the door. When he returned to her, he noticed a small glow coming from her hand. He examined it closer and saw her ring emitting a red and an inky, black flame.

He narrowed his eyes and knelt down by the couch. He picked up her right hand and observed the odd flame. Hibari thought about taking the ring off. He reached down for it, but stopped when Kuroi's eyes suddenly flew open and she started breathing heavily, panting and gasping.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

When Kuroi woke up, she saw Hibari just a foot away from her. She was gasping for air, and she started to sweat a little bit. She had the feeling that she had some sort of nightmare, but she couldn't remember anything...

Kuroi noticed that her hand was in Hibari's and she instantly got confused. She looked at their hands and saw that he was holding her hand that had the ring on it. This caused her to become a little defensive and nervous. She retracted her hand from his.

"I.. Um.. Uh..." She couldn't come up with any words.

Hibari narrowed his eyes at her. He seemed to know that something was up with her, and, for once, he wanted to know what. But, he decided that if she wanted to tell him, she'd tell him herself when she's ready.

Hibari stood up and walked up to his room. Kuroi remained baffled and anxious. She looked at her ring, but didn't see the flame she saw before. Exhausted, Kuroi got up off the couch and headed to her room. She changed into her pajamas, which were long, baggy, cotton pants and a tank top, and rested on her bed.

She thought about what happened earlier at the park and why it happened. Then, she thought of her parents, their death and what caused it... This made her depressed and she hugged her old rabbit. Suddenly, Kuroi remembered what her dream was about. Though, it seemed more like a video reel for memories... Horrifying memories... Memories of that tragic night when her family was murdered...

[END]

* * *

Looks like Kuroi's powers are getting more interesting. Sorry if this chapter want really an adorable chapter. I kinda put it together at the last minute. I didn't have a plot for the chapter already on my head, so I decided to just wing it. :P

*"Stupid banana"

*This is a play on words. Kuroi's name means black in Japanese. So does Kuro. Shiro translates to white in Japanese. Ergo, the kids were making fun of her name because it's a color.

Anyway, let me know what you think in a review and tell me your favorite part and (or) quote.

And since I don't really have any "fun chapters" planned, please tell me what you think should happen in a "fun chapter" and I may use it, but of course I will give credit to your idea. I won't steal it.

But until next time, I will see you in the next update!

POOF!


	11. Reminiscence

Sorry I did not update yesterday. I was at the lake with my friends to celebrate the 4th of July. I also apologize that my last chapter wasn't much of a "fun" one. Though, you have to admit, it was damn hilarious when she saw the banana in the commercial :D I promise I'll make this chapter happy without too much suspense. YOU'RE WELCOME ANI! XD

Anyway, here's chapter eleven. Enjoy!

I do not own any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters and things I have created.

* * *

_{WINTER}_

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari]_

_*SCCHHU SCCHHU SCCHHU* (footsteps in snow)_

"C'mon, Hibari!" Kuroi called out for him waving her arm in the air.

He silently sighed to himself and proceeded over to her.

Kuroi was standing on top of a hill. She wore a red trench coat with black lining that had a black fur hood attached to it. Black buttons ran down the front of it and black lace trimming encompassed the end of the sleeves and coat. She had black and white stockings on underneath and pink, fuzzy earmuffs on her head. Her gray knee-high lace-up boots were lined with dark colored fur and had buckles on them. She had snow covered all over her legs.

Hibari had his hands in his pockets as he trailed through the snow while Hibird was flying above them and landed on Kuroi's head. There was a sudden surge of icy wind. Hibari pulled up the collar of his coat to block the wind while his gray and black scarf was blowing with it.

"Hurry up, Hibari!" Kuroi ran up to him and pulled his arm.

Hibari grunted and followed along until they reached the top. He still didn't understand how she got him to come up here with her.

* * *

_[FLASHBACK]_

_"Neh~ Hibari? Can we go outside?" Kuroi came up to him with a smile on her cheerful face._

_"Why?" Hibari asked her disinterested._

_"I want to take you somewhere that I think you will absolutely love, if not, like," She grinned at him. It seemed as if she knew something he didn't. This could be bad._

_"No," He replied straight out flat._

_"Awe, come on, why not?" Kuroi asked him dissatisfied with his answer._

_"Because, I don't want to go outside in freezing temperatures," He explained to her._

_"Oh, please, it's not that bad out there," She laughed._

_"I said no," Hibari gave her a cold stare._

_"Fine... Fine... Then, I guess you won't be able to see something magnificent..." She said._

_"That's fine by me."_

_"... That has to do with Namimori," She finished her sentence, smiling at him mischievously._

_"Hn? Namimori you say?" Hibari suddenly became interested._

_"Yeah... But, you said you didn't want to go so... I guess we can't see it then..."Kuroi was obviously trying to play the guilt-trip on him._

_"... Fine. We'll go see whatever it is you want. But, we are not staying long," He said in a stern voice._

_"Yay! Thank you!" She thanked him as she ran and changed into more suitable clothing for the outside weather._

_Hibari sighed and grabbed his grey trench coat, scarf and hat and waited for Kuroi to return so that they could go to this 'magnificent' place she had in mind..._

_[END OF FLASHBACK]_

* * *

"Why are we here?" Hibari asked displeased since he never wanted to be outside in the cold in the first place.

Kuroi looked at him and smiled, "The view is rather nice, don't you think?"

"Hn?" Hibari blinked in confusion and then looked at the scenery presented before them.

Hibari was surprised. He never noticed it before as he gazed upon what view the hill brought him. He was able to see the whole town of Namimori. It was a beautiful, breathtaking site.

"Look, there's your school," Kuroi pointed to a large three story building that was covered with snow.

"Aa~..." Hibari looked in the direction she was pointing, and then turned back to her, "You still haven't told me why we're here."

"You seemed bored, so I thought I'd show you this," she explained, "I always come here whenever I need to clear my head."

Hibari wasn't one for going out in the cold for no reason, but he couldn't lie to himself that the scenery of the town was mesmerizing and instantly cleared all of his thoughts from before away.

"Neh~ Hibari..." He felt a tug at his sleeve.

Hibari snapped out of his daze and looked at her, "What?"

"Nothing. It's just that... You seemed to be in a daze, is all," She said.

"I'm fine," He turned around and started heading back.

Hibari continued walking until Hibird flew down to him and hovered in front of his face.

"What are you doing, little one?" He asked the bird as if it would respond like a human.

"Hibari, Hibari," The little yellow bird said, and then flew over towards Kuroi and hovered over her head.

"Hn?" Hibari reluctantly walked over to Kuroi with his hands in his pockets, "Yo, what are you doing? Let's go."

She didn't move, however.

He examined her closely and noticed she had more of a forlorn look on her face than that cheery, joyful one like how it was before.

"Hmm?"

Hibari took out one of his hands from his pockets and placed it on her shoulder.

No response.

He wasn't the one for wanting to know other people's emotions. He thought that emotions were things that only herbivores would have, so he didn't pay attention to them. However, he knew that something was up with her, and only a small part of him really cared. But, since he is in charge of keeping her safe, he is forced to know of her wellbeing. Plus, the only way he was going to be able to go back to his nice, cozy home, was to figure out what was wrong with her so that she'll finally move.

"Neh~" He called to her with a hint of annoyance in his tone, "What's up with you?"

"... There's more than one reason why I like to come here..." She finally answered distantly.

"..." Hibari remained silent so that she'll finish.

"... My parents used to take me here when I was younger. We would have so much fun... But... I guess that won't ever happen again..." She turned to him, "I come here... To remember them... Because it's the only cherishable memory I have left of them."

Kuroi looked at her ring, "This... Has no cherishable meaning to me."

"Then why keep it?"

"Because.. I was told to," She returned her attention back to the town.

"... Ja~ let's go," Hibari turned to head off once again.

This time, Kuroi followed.

As they were walking back, the wind started to pick up again, except this time, the wind was a lot stronger and blurred their vision. Hibird flew down and nestled itself on Hibari's shoulder between the scarf and the collar of his coat.

A couple minutes passed as they walked through the stormy winds, when Hibari failed to realize that someone was falling fast behind. He couldn't see much and he couldn't hear anything over the gushes of wind blowing past his ears, so he kept moving.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

"Hibari...!?" She called for him, "Hibari!?"

Kuroi couldn't walk any further. The wind was too strong and it was making it harder for her to breathe. She ducked to the ground and put her hood up. She couldn't move and she was extremely cold.

"Hibari!?" She shouted with more urgency.

Kuroi felt totally alone and completely lost. Her body temperature was dropping by the minute.

"Hibari..." Kuroi started cry a little. She felt abandoned and lost in the cold, torturous weather.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari]_

Hibari turned around to check on Kuroi, but he found that she wasn't there. His eyes narrowed. He reluctantly went back down in the direction he came from, searching for her. He knew that at her age and in this type of weather, she wouldn't do so well...

He retraced his steps, keeping an eye out for her. The wind and cold was unbearable, but he had to find her.

After a good ten minutes, he saw something on the ground. It looked like a large rock, but as he got closer, he knew what it really was. His eyes widened.

He rushed over to what he thought he saw curled up on the ground and knelt down.

"Sora Kuroi..." He placed a hand on her.

Kuroi opened her eyes slowly and looked at him, "Hibari...?"

He blinked at her.

"... C-... Cold..." She stammered.

Hibari narrowed his eyes. He thought about what he should do for minute and then decided it couldn't be helped. He tried to move her, but she wouldn't cooperate.

"Stop it. Let's go," He ordered her, out of patience.

She looked at him confused. Hibari tried to move her again, and this time she allowed him. Hibari picked her up so that she was upright. She hugged him tightly, wraping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, to keep herself warm. Hibari wasn't enjoying it, but he had to bear with it. The harsh, icy wind wasn't helping either.

Hibari ran with her in his arms. By the time they finally made it back to town, the cruel winds stopped, but Kuroi was still clinging to him. He walked back to his home, still carrying her. By this time, Kuroi fell asleep.

He finally made it back to his home and sat Kuroi down on the couch. He plopped himself down, as well, and fell asleep out of exhaustion.

A few hours later, he woke up and found that Kuroi was gone. He looked around and saw her through the window, playing around in the snow outside. He sighed and went out to see what she was doing.

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

"I like the snow," She said as she formed a snowball in here hands.

"... Even after what just happened?"

"Yeah. It's not like it happens all the time. And if it does, I just make the best of it," She smiled innocently at him, "Besides there's a lot of things you can do with snow."

"... Such as?" He asked her deadpanned.

"Well, for one thing, you can make snow angels, you can make snowmen. You know, just build things..." She explained.

"How is that fun?" He asked unimpressed.

"Well... You can also.. Um.. Do this!" She threw a snowball at Hibari's chest.

"Why.. Did you throw that at me...?" Hibari was beginning to become quite irritated.

"Haha. It's a snowball fight, that's why!" She said proudly with a grin on her face.

"Whatever," He turned around and headed back inside, dusting the snow off of him.

Kuroi followed in after him.

"You're no fun, you know that?" She pouted.

"I'm not here to entertain you, herbivore," He said.

"Well... You could at least do something..." Kuroi idly walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a muffin.

Hibari walked over to the couch to sit down and began reading for the millionth time. Suddenly, there was a loud crash of glass. Hibari got up to investigate and found that the sound came from the kitchen.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked her with his wrath starting to show.

"...Um.." Kuroi looked at the window and then back him, "There was another spider..."

She looked back at the window again, "It's gone now..."

Hibari looked in the direction she glanced to and saw that the window above the kitchen sink was broken. He also took notice that the bananas he bought earlier disappeared as well.

"... You are going to pay for having the window replaced, herbivore," Hibari was not at all thrilled. Maybe today was just not his day.

"How? I don't have any money, and, besides, I'm too young to work," She complained.

"There is more than one way to atone for your crime," Hibari smirked at her with such an evil intent, it made Kuroi back away slowly from him.

"... How so...?" She asked him hesitantly.

"Well, for one thing, you can do work around the house, or you can be my personal assistant," He smiled.

"... You said what now?" She asked.

In the end, Hibari had fun making her do a bunch of chores around the house to keep her out of trouble while he was able to catch up on some reading. Though, eventually, he fell asleep on the couch.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

It took Kuroi most of the day to finish up all of the chores the demon gave her for breaking the window. By the time she was done, it was close to nighttime.

She got changed into her baggy pajamas and went out to the living room to tell Hibari that she finished everything he wanted her to do. When she saw Hibari, he had his book still open laying face up on his chest. He must've been pretty exhausted. Kuroi took the book and sat it down on the coffee table. She then poked him to wake him up. After all, he is a light sleeper so it shouldn't take much for him to awaken.

"What are you doing?" He asked her, still half asleep.

"I just came to tell you that I finished everything that you wanted me to do. Um... Sorry to disturb you," Kuroi gave her condolences and walked off to her room to go to sleep.

By the next morning, when Kuroi finally decided to wake up, she found out that the window had been replaced.

When she entered the living room, she noticed that Hibari was still asleep on the couch instead of his own bed. Kuroi walked over to him and tried to decide on whether or not she should wake him. She decided not to and went over into the kitchen and grabbed something random to eat.

Just then, Hibird flew in and landed on top of Kuroi's head and started singing the Namimori Chuu~ anthem. Kuroi listened to the bird sing and after a few minutes of hearing the same versus, the lyrics got stuck in her head and she found herself singing along with the little, yellow bird. When they finished the song, Hibird flew off of her head and went over toward the living room's direction. Kuroi followed the bird's movements and saw him land on Hibari's shoulder, whom of which was standing in the doorway for who knows how long.

"Hibari, Hibari," The little bird said.

"Um... I'm sorry I woke you up..." She was hesitant as to what she should say. He didn't seem to be in the best of moods, and one thing that usually sets him off, is being woken up by someone when he never wanted to be awakened in the first place.

"If you disturb my sleep again, herbivore, I'll bite you to death," He said as he rose one of his tonfas.

"I know..." Kuroi hung her head down and walked off to the living room.

"Your voice..." She heard him say as she past him, "... It's nice."

Kuroi was in shock that he would actually complement her. She stared at him, unable to reply.

"However, it's off key," He finished his thought.

Kuroi pouted but shrugged it off and went out to the living room to sit on the couch to watch TV.

She wondered how long he'd been listening to her and the bird sing together. Was he there the whole time? Or just for one moment? Though, one thing is for sure is that his complement caught her off guard, even if he did critique her in the end. Overall, she thought it was nice of him. He might seem to be warming up to her after all.

"Neh~ Hibari?" She called out for him.

"What do you want?" He asked her.

"I hear that the weather is supposed to be nice today," She smiled to herself.

"... What of it?" He was confused.

"So.. There shouldn't be much wind today, so if for whatever reason we go out, it should be fine," She was grinning that same evil smile as before.

"... What's your point...?" Hibari asked her cautiously.

"Well, since the weather is suppose to be nice, can we go back to the hilltop, again?" She asked eagerly.

"No," He denied her request bluntly.

"Please! You and I both know that you liked the veiw it gave us. It was pretty," She tried to persuade him into going with her.

"No," He continued to reject as he came into the room.

"It's not like what happened last time is going to happen again," Kuroi pressed on.

"I said no. I don't like repeating myself."

"Well, you won't have to repeat yourself if you say yes," She found a loophole in his statement, "Besides, don't you want to see that amazing scenery again?"

"... Alright... Fine.. We can go. But if you fall behind again, I'll bite you to death," He threatened her, raising his tonfas for her to see.

"Yes!" Kuroi ran up to her room and grabbed her coat so that they could head out.

The two set out for the hilltop once again to enjoy the scenery. Though, for Kuroi, it was much more than the scenery she wanted to revisit...

[END]

* * *

Hey wasn't this a great chapter!? It didn't have much suspense... I think...

Anyway, tell me in a review what you think and let me know your favorite part and (or) quote. Until next time, I will see you in the next update.

POOF!


	12. Searching

So, the other day I was with my mom at a grocery store. We were in the produce section getting... Well, produce of course, and I looked around and guess what I saw... A giant display of tons of bananas. I started laughing when I saw it because it reminded me of Kuroi haha. And what made it better was that the snack aisle was right next to the produce section. So, when I looked at the snack aisle, I saw MUFFINS! That just made me fall to floor laughing. I couldn't breathe, because it was just so funny. Sorry if I've ruined bananas for you. :P

Anyway, I think that after this chapter I'll start the Varia Arc.

So without further ado, I present to you chapter twelve. Enjoy!

I do not own any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters and things I have created.

* * *

_{SPRING}_

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

_*SPLISH SPLASH_*

Kuroi was jumping around in puddles of water after it had just rained.

"Stop that," Hibari commanded her as if she were a dog.

"No, I don't think I will," She sneered and continued to hop around in the puddles.

"Do you wish to infuriate me?" He was getting mighty agitated.

"... Mmm," She thought about it for a moment while she jumped in another puddle, "It depends."

"... Stop it, or I'll bite you to death," He stopped walking and showed a tonfa.

"Well... Since you put it that way..." Kuroi turned and ran, "You'll have to catch me, first!"

Unfortunately for her though, she was caught in three seconds flat.

"Wow, Hibari! That's gotta be a new record," She said as he picked her up and carried her over his shoulder.

"So, where are we going?" She asked him, trying to play innocent.

"The store," Hibari said bluntly.

"Ooooo, we're gonna go shopping!?" Kuroi was bursting with excitement.

"No, we're gonna go look around pointlessly and wish we could buy things," He said ever so sarcastically.

"Awe, well that's not fun..." She pouted.

"... That was sarcasm, herbivore," He explained.

"Ppsshh, whatever," She laughed.

After about ten minutes of walking, they finally made it to the grocery store. Hibari dropped Kuroi to the ground and walked inside.

"Let's go," He didn't really look at her as he went inside.

Kuroi got up from the floor and hurried in after him. The store appeared small from the outside, but was pretty big on the inside. She's never really been in a grocery store in such a long time, it seemed foreign to her. Kuroi looked around for Hibari and found him heading down a random aisle. She ran down after him, avoiding collisions with other people.

When she was able to get to the aisle he was in, he was no longer there. She searched all around for him, but to no avail. She stood around in the bakery section for quite a bit, unsure as to where he could be. Did he already leave, or was he still there?

When all hope seemed lost, she turned her attention over to the right and saw a familiar trio walking around the store. They looked like they were searching for something.

Kuroi ran over to them. As soon as she was close enough, she leapt in the air to pounce on a person with silver, chin-length hair.

"Ha-ya-to!" She sang when she landed on none other than Gokudera.

"What the hell!? Get off of me!" Gokudera was spinning in circles trying to grab her to get her off.

"Hahahahaha! Little Kuroi is so cute and funny," Yamamoto laughed.

"G-Gokudera-kun, take it easy. She's just playing," Tsuna tried to calm him down.

"But, she's annoying me! Get her off me, now!" Gokudera was still spinning around, trying to grab her.

Kuroi held on tight and just laughed at him. Obviously, she was having too much fun to let go, now.

Finally, Gokudera gave up. He stood still and slumped over a little, out of energy.

"Give up?" Kuroi taunted him as she leaned over his shoulder.

He turned his head toward her, "Shut up..."

"Wait a minute-... Why are you here, anyway, Sora-chan? Aren't you supposed to be with Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked her.

"I am with him," She smiled.

"Eh!? Hibari-san is here!?" Tsuna was looking all around him, fearing that Hibari would come out and bite him to death, "W-Wait... Where is he?"

"Uh, haha..." She laughed sheepishly, "Well, you see.. I lost him. I can't find him anywhere."

"Cheh. Aren't you hopeless..." Gokudera muttered.

Kuroi took that offensively and pulled his hair.

"OUCH! HEY, QUITE IT- argh. STOP IT!" He yelled at her.

"Can you guys help me find him?" Kuroi pleaded for assistance.

"Well, we would, but we're looking for Lambo, Fuuta and I-pin. They ran off somewhere in here," Tsuna looked around for them as he talked.

"Oh.. Okay," Kuroi was disheartened.

"Ma~ Ma~ we can look for both of them. While we search for those kids, we can keep an eye out for Hibari, as well," Yamamoto reassured her with a generous smile.

"Yay! Thank you, Yamamoto!"

"Yeah.. Thank you, Yamamoto..." Gokudera said sarcastically and scornfully, "And will you get off of me!?"

"Never~!"

"Cheh... Stupid, little girl..." He mumbled to himself.

Gokudera wrapped his arms around Kuroi to give her more support, and so that her weight isn't pulling him down. Not that she's heavy or anything.

The four set off in search of their missing persons.

"Neh~ Sora-chan? Why is Hibari-San here in the first place? Doesn't he hate crowds?" Tsuna asked her nervously.

"He does, but there are only few exceptions, I guess," She paraphrased.

"Tch. Bastard," Gokudera continued to mutter insults.

"Hayato, you should stop insulting yourself. It's really bad for your self esteem."

"Shut up!"

"So then, what are you guys doing here?" Kuroi asked Tsuna.

"Well, we were on our way to the park, and Lambo kept whining about wanting something to eat. He ran off and I-pin and Fuuta chased after him. The last time we saw them, they ran in here. We've been searching for them ever since," Tsuna explained.

"Oh, okay."

The four of them searched all over the store, but they couldn't find anyone.

Suddenly, they heard familiar voices.

"Lambo, stop that. Let go of me."

"Huh? That sounds like Fuuta..." Tsuna recognized the voice.

"Man, what's that stupid cow up to this time?" Gokudera's irritation level went up a bit. He hated the fact that he had to help look for the little cow kid.

"I'm guessing that all three are together," Yamamoto concluded.

"They better be..." Gokudera was exasperated with all the children badgering him.

"Fuuta~... You're so stingy. Give me food. I'm hungry," Kuroi could hear Lambo's voice. He sounded like he was dying, but she was pretty sure he wasn't.

"Stop, Lambo."

"That's I-pin!" Tsuna exclaimed.

"So, they are all together!" Yamamoto was relieved to know they're not all a stray from each other.

Tsuna, Yamamoto and Gokudera, whom of which was still in the progress of giving Kuroi a piggy back ride, rushed over to the sound of where the children's voices originated. When they finally found them, they witnessed Lambo holding on to Fuuta's leg and being dragged across the floor as Fuuta tried to move. I-pin was pulling at Lambo to get him off.

"Lambo, get up. Stop it. Get off of me," Fuuta was trying to shake him off of his leg, but it didn't work too well.

"Lambo, let go!" I-pin yelled at him in her small, cute voice.

"Guys, what are you doing here!? You shouldn't have ran off! Why'd you do that?" Tsuna was relieved to see that they were okay, but he still wasn't too ecstatic that they ran away in the first place.

"Tsuna-nii!" Fuuta was happy to see him.

"Tsuna~... give me food... I'm hungry..." Lambo continued to whine and complain.

"Oi, you stupid cow, don't order Juudaime around like that!" Gokudera took out sticks of dynamite.

"We can't set off bombs in a place like this...!" Tsuna was horrified.

"Ma~ Ma~ Gokudera, let's just take it easy for a bit and just calm down, okay?" Yamamoto was trying so hard to calm him down.

"Shut up, baseball idiot. I've had it with that dumb cow!" Gokudera shouted and tried to throw the sticks of dynamite at Lambo.

However, when he tried to throw them, they disappeared. So, basically, he was throwing air.

"What the hell...!? What happened to the dynamite!?" Gokudera freaked out a little bit.

"You know, it's not nice to hurt little kids. Besides, with bombs, you can hurt other people than just your target in this area. Plus, you'll have to pay for the destruction of public property. And I'm sure that won't end well, either," Kuroi said as she extinguished the bombs' fuses.

Kuroi jumped down from Gokudera and walked over to Lambo.

"Neh~ Lambo?" She tried to be as sweet as possible.

".. Nnn.. Wwhhaaatttt...?" He asked her, still in his whiny phase.

"Would you like a lollipop?" Kuroi took out a giant, swirly lollipop and waved it in front of Lambo's face.

Lambo got up instantly.

"Ooo! Gimme that lollipop! I want it! Give it! Give it to me, now!" He ordered Kuroi with a longing expression smeared all over his snotty and drooling face.

"Nope. Not yet," Kuroi raised the lollipop higher so that he couldn't reach it.

"Stop being stingy. Gimme the lollipop~!" He jumped up over and over trying so hard to get it.

"I'll give it to you... If you do something for me in return," She smiled evilly.

"Huh~ what's that?" Lambo asked out of curiosity, still wanting the giant lollipop so badly.

"I'll give you the lollipop if you listen to what Tsuna and the others tell you to do. If you do what they say for the rest of the day, you can have the lollipop," Kuroi was trying to bribe Lambo into doing something he'd never really do.

"Mmm... Okay!" Lambo took the lollipop and munched it down. Not even savoring the flavor. Kuroi was sure that his teeth might be broken now, but who knows. It's Lambo. He gets blown up by tons of grenades all of the time, so he should be fine then, right?

Kuroi turned back to Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto.

"So, now we still have to find Hibari," She smiled innocently.

"Y-Yeah... Of course," Tsuna was a bit hesitant since he wasn't really sure if he wanted to find Hibari or not. After all, he might get bitten to death.

The group continued to roam around the store in search for the raven-haired demon. Gokudera was constantly yelling at Lambo, who in return, taunted him. Kuroi decided to get another piggy back ride, so she hopped onto Yamamoto's back. He was pretty okay with it considering he laughed when she pounced on him.

They travelled down many aisles in search for him. When they got to the pastry and snack aisle, Kuroi saw a box of muffins and grabbed it off of the shelve as Yamamoto passed by it. Everything was going just fine.

When the lot turned the corner, they entered the produce section. Kuroi saw a lot of her favorite fruits, such as watermelon, strawberries and grapes. She made a mental note to make sure that she comes back here with Hibari to get her favorite foods.

As Yamamoto and Kuroi travelled down the many sections of fruits, she spotted a large stand that caused her to divert her full attention to it.

Kuroi's eyes widened and she hopped down from Yamamoto's back. She walked over to Gokudera, who was in an argument with Lambo, not taking her eyes off of the fruits display. When she was close enough, she jumped back onto Gokudera. He didn't seem to pay much attention to her actions. When he finally realized that she was there, Kuroi had already jumped down from his back and walked away from him.

* * *

_[3rd Person Omniscient]_

Gokudera was continuing to argue with Lambo while the cow constantly teased him in return. I-pin was trying to get Lambo to stop harassing Gokudera, but her plan wasn't working.

Tsuna, Fuuta and Yamamoto were busy looking over the fruits and vegetables. No one was paying attention to Kuroi.

"You stupid cow! Can't you just shut up!?" Gokudera was seething with rage by now. He wanted to light the cow up in dynamite and watch him explode like fireworks.

"Gupyahahahaha! Stupidera~! Haha," Lambo continued to tease and insult him.

Gokudera took out several sticks of dynamite.

"I'll blow you away, you dumb cow!" He shouted at him.

*_BBOOOOOOOMMMMMM_*

There was a loud explosion that was extremely close Tsuna and the others. Gokudera looked at the dynamite in his hands. They weren't even lit yet, but there was an explosion in the store.

Everyone looked around and saw Kuroi coming out of ash and smoke that was rising from the ground. She looked perfectly fine. In fact, she was... Smiling.

Tsuna, Yamamoto and Gokudera ran over to her.

"What the heck happened here!?" Tsuna examined the smoke behind her.

"... There was a spider..." She looked over to the smoke and rubble and turned back to Tsuna, "... It's gone now..."

Gokudera felt around his pockets and his chest.

"Nah-? Did you take my dynamite!?" He was shocked and upset that he didn't notice her take them before.

"Maybe," She answered unemotionally.

"You stupid girl! Don't just take things from me without my permission!" He scolded her.

"That's what you're worried about?" Tsuna looked at him in disbelief.

"Hey... Wasnt there a fruits display over there?" Yamamoto pointed to the pile of rubble.

Suddenly, something fell from the sky/roof and landed on Gokudera's face.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?" He yelled in anger as he pulled the sticky goop off of him, "It smells like burnt bananas!"

Everyone tensed up and looked at Kuroi.

"Neh~ Sora-chan.. Um... Did you happen to blow up a banana stand?" Tsuna asked her nervously.

"NNNNOOOOOOOO! MY BEAUTIFUL BANANAS! THEY WERE SO YOUNG!" A man was heard in the background mourning over the destroyed bananas.

"Um.. No," Kuroi answered.

"Are you sure?" Tsuna asked again.

"Bobby, and Billy, and Barbara, and Bianca, and Bill, and Billy Bob Joe, and Bobo, and Brittany, and Benny, and Bernie, and Barney, and Brent, and Bella, and Herald, and..." The man started to recite the names of his banana buddies.

"Yeah I'm sure."

"Really now?" Gokudera didn't believe her.

"... And Mr. Boobaloo, and Steve, and Blue and Barton, and Belle, and Beary and Joe..." The man continued.

"Yes. I'm sure."

"They're all deeeeeaaadddd. Their banana juice is everywhere. They've all gone to banana heaven now... With the exception of Barney... He goin' to hell-"

"Will you shut the f*ck up, already!?" Gokudera snapped at the pathetic man.

Gokudera started getting into an argument with the strange man, while Yamamoto just laughed. Tsuna was just wishing that this could all be over soon.

"Why are you herbivores crowding and making a bunch of noise? Disperse, or I'll bite you all to death."

"H-Hibari-san!" Tsuna tensed up and feared for his life.

Hibari had a bag of groceries in one hand and a tonfa in the other.

"Hibari!" Kuroi ran excitedly over to him and hugged the arm that carried the groceries.

He looked over at the pile of rubble and smoke and then at Kuroi. He looked at her for a few moments and sighed silently to himself.

"Let's go," He commanded her.

"Okay!" Kuroi walked off with him, but turned back to the others, "Bye guys!"

"B-Bye, Sora-chan..." Tsuna waved.

"See you later," Yamamoto waved goodbye with a smile.

Within the instance that the two left, the manager of the store came out and gawked at the site. He turned to Tsuna and the others and walked to them to start a scolding.

They all started running away, and the manager ran after them. Everyone managed to escape... Except for Tsuna.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Kuroi and Hibari headed down the street, back to their home. The whole time during their walk, they remained absolutely silent. Kuroi was about to say something, but Hibari interrupted her.

"You're going to pay for the damage you've done," He stated, obviously accusing her for the destruction of the store, which was her fault.

"How do you even know if it was me? You weren't there," She retorted.

"The area that was destroyed was vastly covered by a banana display. You are the only person that would be so impulsive and irrational as to destroy a fruit stand with bombs," He explained.

"... The spider was asking for it..."

"Yeah. You keep telling yourself that," He smirked.

Kuroi pouted and looked at him a little annoyed.

When they finally got home, Kuroi took out a box of chocolate muffins from the bag. She took one out of the box and began to eat it. She walked out of the kitchen and sat down on the couch, still enjoying her delectable muffin.

As she finished it, she got up to go back to the kitchen to get another muffin. When she got in there, there was a set of bananas sitting on the counter.

"... Oh, it's on."

*_CRASH_*

"What was that, herbivore?"

"Nothing!"

[END]

* * *

I hope you guys liked this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it. I wanted this chapter to be fun, since we will be going into the Varia Arc by the next update. And yes, I wrote this chapter based off of my experience when going to the grocery store, as I've explained before at the top.

Anyway, let me know what you think in a review and tell me what your favorite part and (or) quote was. Until next time, I will see you in the next update.

POOF!


	13. Training

I hope you guys loved my last chapter! I had so much fun writing it. I just wanted to kick off the next arc with a funny chapter. In the Varia Arc, this arc doesn't start off where we meet Squalo and Basil for the first time. Instead, it starts off where everyone is getting their own home tutors, so Kuroi is going to meet Dino pretty soon. Yyyaaayyy Dino! He's so funny. I will try to make the chapters have hardly any filler in them. Unless, you want it that in there. But, I doubt that you would.

**By the way, I am drawing Kuroi's design/character anti will post it on DeviantART soon.**

Anyway, here is the beginning of a new arc and a new chapter! I hope you all enjoy!

I do not own any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters and things I have created.

* * *

_{MONTHS LATER}_

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

It's been a little over a year now and the starting of a new school year for Hibari and the others. Kuroi was wandering around the halls of Hibari's precious Namimori Middle School. She was extremely bored and the demon prefect gave her direct orders to not touch, go in, nor even look at the Music Room, because whenever she played an instrument, it would end up distracting others from doing their tasks at hand.

Since, she couldn't find anything thing to do, she headed back down the hall toward the Reception Room. When she entered, she saw Hibari spinning a ring around between his index finger and his thumb while reading a book. Kuroi walked over to him and sat down next to him on the couch.

"What's that ring you're holding in your hand for?" She asked with her head cocked to the side.

"I'm not sure, but I don't really care," He said without taking his eyes off of the book he was reading.

"Oh... Neh~ Hibari?" She looked at him with adorable eyes, obviously she was trying to kiss up to him.

"Hn?" He simply grunted, still not paying full attention to her.

"Can you please play with me? I'm bored," She asked him kindly.

"No," He turned a page.

"Please? There's nothing to do, and I'm sooooooo booorrreeddd," Kuroi said as she slumped down on the couch.

"That sounds like a personal problem," Hibari continued reading and hardly paying any attention to her.

"Well, actually, it is your problem, because if I'm bored, I'm gonna start bugging you, and if I start bugging you, you're gonna get annoyed, and when you get annoyed, you'll try to bite me to death, and after you're done biting me to death, the whole thing will start all over again. But, all of that could be solved if either you play with me, or you let me play in the Music Room," She smiled triumphantly, "It's your choice."

"... If I were to... 'play' with you, what would you have me do?" He asked her reluctantly.

"Hmmm... Well... What would you be up for doing?" Kuroi wasn't sure what sort of 'game' would best interest Hibari.

"..." Hibari looked up toward the ceiling, deep in thought, "Nothing, really."

Kuroi thought about for a minute, and then light bulb went off in her head.

"Hey, Hibari, how far will a blind dog walk into a forest?" She asked him with a large smile creeping on her face.

"... Halfway, because after he walks halfway, he starts walking out of the forest," Hibari answered.

"Okay... I know a word of letters three. Add two and fewer there will be," Kuroi said with the same smile planted on her face.

Hibari looked at her, "Are you trying to riddle me, now?"

"Maybe."

"..." Hibari turned his attention back to his book, "... Few."

"You're good... Okay, let's see... Soft and fragile is my skin, I get my growth in mud, I'm dangerous as much as pretty, for if not careful, I draw blood," Kuroi riddled again.

"... A thorn."

Kuroi was getting frustrated. She wanted to stump him.

"The thunder comes before the lightning, and the lightning comes before the cloud, the rain dries all the land it touches, wrapping the earth in a blood red shroud."

"..."

"Do you give up-"

"Volcano."

"Dang it!"

"You seem into riddles."

"Well, when you have a lot of time to yourself, you start thinking..." Kuroi said as she sat back on the couch.

There was a moment of silence for a few minutes.

"I am a five-letter word and am feared by most, but experienced by all. If you remove my first and last letters, I bring life. If you add an 'r' between the third and the fourth letters, I am almost nothing, and if you remove the first letter from this new word, I am your home," Hibari said as he was reading.

Kuroi smiled. She could tell that Hibari was playing her game with her now. Who knew he'd be interested in riddles? This made her extremely happy.

"Death. No one can escape death, but many fear it. Removing the first and last letters leaves eat, and we must eat to stay alive. Adding the 'r' turns death into dearth, which is scarcity, and removing the first letter of dearth leaves earth, where we live," Kuroi answered with a grin.

"Hn. I guess you're smarter than you appear to be..." He smiled at her.

Kuroi's smile faded into a shocked expression. She was surprised to see him actually smile at her for once. He's never really smiled before, not one that was sincere anyway. The only time she has seen him smile is whenever he's wanting to fight or bite someone to death. This smile he had on now... Was completely new to her.

"What?" His smile disappeared.

"Ah-" Kuroi shook herself out of her daze, "N-nothing... It's just that.. Well... I've never really seen you smile before. Not like that anyway..."

Hibari blinked at her words and his eyes widened a little bit. He never realized that he has never actually smiled a sincere smile to her before. This was strange for him as well.

The Reception Room door suddenly slid open.

"You're Hibari Kyouya, right?"

Both Hibari and Kuroi shifted their gazes onto a tall, young man with blonde hair and brown eyes. A man with a black mustache and glasses was standing behind him.

"... And you are...?" Hibari asked him with skeptical eyes.

"I'm like Tsuna's big brother and also and acquaintance of Reborn," The blonde said, "I want to talk to you about the ring with the cloud symbol on it."

"The baby... Then you must be strong," Hibari's evil smile came to light, "Talking about the ring is not my main concern, as long as I can bite you to death."

"I see, a problematic kid indeed," He took out a whip, "That's fine. This way, things will go faster."

Kuroi narrowed her eyes at him.

Hibari looked at her, "Stay here."

Kuroi didn't trust this new guy presented before her. She walked up and analyzed him. She wasn't sure what to think. But, then again, he said he was affiliated with Reborn and Tsuna. Maybe he is a good guy, but... You can't be too careful...

"Sora..."

Kuroi's eyes widened. She turned slowly around and looked at Hibari. The look in his eyes said that he didn't want her near him. Kuroi backed away and walked behind Hibari. She gripped the back of his shirt and peered around him to look at the young man.

Hibari gave her a side glance and then diverted his attention back to the blonde.

"She's so adorable. Are you her brother?" The blonde asked him.

"No," He replied flatly.

"Oh, really now? Hmm... My mistake. It's just that you two look alike: both have a pale complexion and jet black hair. Plus, she's hiding behind you for protection it seems, and you seem to be a bit protective of her as well," He smiled.

"I look nothing like her."

"Alright. So what are you, her babysitter?"

"No."

"Hmm," The blonde seemed to be confused, "Then, who is she? What are you to her?"

Hibari glanced at her again. Kuroi was confused. Usually he'd answer without missing a beat and say that she was a nuisance or a hindrance, but this time... He didn't answer it easily at all.

Hibari was hesitating on finding the right choice of words to answer his question.

"He's my Guardian," She answered for him.

"Guardian?" The young blonde looked at Kuroi perplexed.

"Yes, Reborn assigned him to me. His only job is to protect me," Kuroi explained further.

"I see... And what might your name be?" He smiled generously, trying to be friendly.

"... Um..." She looked up at Hibari.

Hibari's gaze on her was unreadable, and as she tried to step around him, he moved into a protective and defensive stance. He obviously didn't want her near someone he wasn't familiar with.

"... Sora Kuroi... My name is Sora Kuroi," She hesitantly told the blonde her name.

"I'm Dino Cavallone. Hmm... I wonder why Reborn didn't tell me about you..."

Hibari narrowed his eyes and stood completely in front of Kuroi, blocking her vision from the unknown intruder.

"I've had enough talk. Can I just bite you to death, already?" Hibari said as he rose his tonfas.

"Fine, then what would be the best place to tame you?" The blonde teased.

* * *

The best place to fight ended up being on top of the roof of the school. Kuroi walked over to the ladder and climbed up. She decided to watch them from above. She was highly uneasy about the situation. She didn't want to see Hibari get hurt again. She didn't want to see him get tortured and defeated like how it was with Mukuro.

As the two started fighting, Kuroi became tense. She didn't like watching it, but she did to make sure that Hibari would be okay and that he wouldn't get beaten.

At one point, Hibari ended up getting his tonfa tangled in Dino's whip. However, he managed to get it loose and swung at Dino's face. Hibari was able to hit him, but it wasn't a direct hit.

The fight continued for so long, it was to the point where Kuroi couldn't tell what time it was anymore. Hibari and Dino had several wounds all over them. It was unsettling for her to watch any longer.

Kuroi jumped down to the roof and while Dino was talking to Hibari momentarily to stop the fight for a few seconds, Kuroi snuck up behind Dino and pounced on him.

"Hey- what are you doing!?" He lost his balance a little due to being surprised.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" She held on to him, keeping her eyes shut as she yelled.

"W-What?"

"Stop it! Stop the fighting! It's going nowhere! You guys have been up here for hours fighting. Nothing has happened," She explained herself.

"Hehe, I'm sorry that we're boring you," Dino laughed.

"It's not that you're boring me, it's that you guys aren't going anywhere with this. The fight is so neutral," Kuroi said as she continued to hold on to Dino's shoulders.

"Haha, don't worry, we'll be done soon," Dino tried to reassure her, but Kuroi put on her poker face and jumped down from Dino.

She walked over to Hibari and tugged on his shirt, gesturing him to kneel down. Hibari bent down so that their faces were just inches apart.

"Make it quick, please," She said deadpanned.

He smirked and stood back upright, "I will."

Kuroi walked off of the battlefield and looked over toward the fence. An older man was leaning up against it. He was the same man from before when Dino first came into the Reception Room. Kuroi walked over to him and analyzed him.

"Hello there, little one," He smiled, "You are Sora Kuroi, are you not?"

"Yes," She looked up at him with innocent eyes.

"My name is Romario," He introduced himself.

"Who is he really?" She pointed at Dino.

"That person is Dino Cavallone. He is the Tenth Generation Boss of the Cavallone Famiglia."

"So what are you?"

"I'm just his subordinate. I work under him," He explained.

"Oh... Do you like working for him?" She asked.

"Yes, actually. He takes great care of us and it is much appreciated," He smiled sincerely.

"What is a Famiglia?" Kuroi continued to ask questions.

"A Famiglia is basically family in Italian. The Cavallone are part of the mafia. We are mafioso."

"Is that what the Vongola is?"

"Yes. We are allied with them. How do you know about the Vongola?"

"I heard Reborn mention it to Tsuna when he was deciding on my Guardian."

"Really now? I'm guessing that is your eh... Guardian?" He gestured to Hibari.

"Yup!"

"How long have you known Reborn?"

"About a year."

"Has he mentioned to you anything about the Vongola, such as the rings?"

"Um... No, I don't think so. The only ring he's ever talked about was this one," Kuroi held up her ring on her right hand, "He mentioned shortly that this ring was powerful, though I don't know why..."

"... Where did you get that?" He asked. Romario's demeanor shifted into a more serious tone.

"It's a family heirloom. When my parents died, I was given the ring."

"I see... Do you know what that ring is?"

"Kind of... Mu-..." Kuroi was hesitant to same the name, "... Rokudo Mukuro... Said that the ring was powerful and that it had something to do with Hell. He said something about me being the 'Keeper of Hell' or something like that. I don't think those are the exact words, though..."

"Hmm..." Romario was deep in thought, "Well, if I were you, I'd keep that ring safe."

"I guess..."

Kuroi and Romario continued to watch the battle between Dino and Hibari. Kuroi was growing rather bored, so she decided to leave.

Kuroi walked out through the exit door and went downstairs. She thought for a little bit about what she should do for entertainment. She thought about going back to the Reception Room, but then she remembered that there was never anything to do in there. She thought about walking around the school grounds, but that didn't seem fun either. She thought about going to see Yamamoto, Tsuna and Gokudera, but they were in class right now, so she couldn't bother them. She thought about every possible solution and ended up turning every single one of them down. The only thing that she could come up with that would interest her and keep her occupied, was going to the Music Room.

Kuroi hesitated to go there, though, since Hibari made it pretty clear that she wasn't aloud to go there anymore because she distracts people whenever she plays. Kuroi couldn't decide on obeying his orders or rebelling and going there despite what he said. Because she was so desperate for entertainment, she decided to go there anyway.

After a while, she was able to make it down to the first floor where the Music Room was located. She walked in and thought about what instrument to play. She thought about the piano, but then again, she's played it already. She looked around the room for the right instrument to play. She couldn't decided, so she picked at random and ended up picking a saxophone. She looked over it and a mischievous smile crept onto her face...

* * *

She retuned back up to the rooftop.

"Neh~ Romario?" She called out for him.

"Ah- Kuroi-san. What do you have behind your back?" Romario asked her.

"You wanna make this fight more interesting?" She smiled evilly.

"Hmm...?"

Kuroi pulled out the saxophone and sat on the railing, "Watch this."

"Watcha doing there?"

"Well, since those two are too involved in their fight, I'm gonna play a little bit of background music for them."

"Um... Alright..."

As the two continued fighting, Kuroi started to play her idea of background music. Now, it would've been fine and all if the music she played actually went with the fight. The music she played was known as Yakety Sax. The sound of this music made the fight seem more comical than serious.

As the song continued, Romario couldn't help but laugh.

"See, Yakety Sax makes everything sound funny," She laughed and restarted the song.

"Heh heh, it does," Romario was trying hard not to laugh.

Dino and Hibari finally realized the music going on and looked at Kuroi.

"What are you doing, herbivore?" Hibari asked annoyed.

"Making your fight seem more interesting," She smiled.

"Stop it."

"You're no fun..."

"C'mon, Kyouya, she's just trying to have some fun-" Dino was interupted by a tonfa being swung at him.

"Don't speak of my name so informally." Hibari continued to swing at Dino with his tonfas.

Kuroi smiled at them as they fought, she continued to play other pieces of music. Most of them were exceptionally comical.

Kuroi didn't understand who these two new people were, but they seemed okay. Dino said that he was affiliated with Reborn and Tsuna, so does that mean he's a friend of their's or does he just know them? Does that mean that he's a friend of her's as well?

She didn't know what to think of these people. She wasn't sure if she should trust them or not. Though, the only way to find out is to just get to know them better. Then again, she could just ask Reborn, but it wouldn't be as interesting would it?

[END]

* * *

Yyyaaayyyy! Dino has finally made an appearance! I hope this was a good chapter to start the Varia Arc off with. Hope you guys liked it. And don't you find it funny that Hibari's riddle's answer was death. Knowing Hibari... That just suits him.

I do not own the Yakety Sax song. Look it up on YouTube or something if you want to know what the song sounded like.

Tell me what you think in a review and let me know your favorite part and (or) quote. Until next time, I will see you in the next update.

POOF!


	14. Disobedient

Okay. Sorry for taking so long to update. I've been extremely busy and these chapters take forever to write. Depending on how I feel, I may or may not skip over a few battles. Updates are going to come little slow this week, because I'm so busy. I have a bunch of art projects that I need to finish. So I apologize for the inconvenience. But, I swear, chapters will be posted. I intend to finish this story.

Anyway, here is your long awaited chapter fourteen. I hope you enjoy.

I don't own any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters and things I have created.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Over the next few days, Kuroi was forced to watch Hibari's extremely boring training. Occasionally, Romario would take her out to a store or a restuarant so that she wasn't so bored. However, whenever they get back, Dino would be tied up in his own whip, beaten and unconscious on the ground or worse. Appearantly, Dino was a terrific clutz whenever his subordinates weren't around.

The fights ended up destroying the roof of the school and were becoming much more fierce. Kuroi on the other hand was becoming more disinterested by the second. On a couple occasions, she would ask Hibari if she could go home to which he replied with a flat 'no'.

Her inattentiveness was increasing by the second until it got to the point where she finally decided to sneak away.

"Kuroi-san? Where are you going?" Romario caught her trying to escape.

She turned around and sheepishly smiled, "Well, you see... It's just that... I'M SO BOOOORRREEDDDD! So I decided to go see Tsuna and Reborn."

"I'm not too sure that is a wise decision..." He said uneasily.

"Why is that?" Kuroi cocked her head to the side.

"Well, for one thing, I'm pretty sure your Guardian over would be displeased if he found out that you ran off. And second, I don't think now is the right time to see Reborn..." He explained to her.

"Well, why can't I see Reborn?" Kuroi asked curiously.

"Just like how Boss over there is training Hibari Kyouya, Reborn is training Sawada Tsunayoshi," Romario seemed a little unsettled as to what would happen if she did go see them, "It would be dangerous to visit them since you don't know what their training is.

"Oh... Well, then what am I supposed to do?" Kuroi was disappointed in that she couldn't leave the torture chamber of uninterest.

"... *_Sigh_* Tell you what; you can go on ahead and see Reborn, but if Hibari over there gets upset, you're taking full responsibility," Romario negotiated with her.

"Okay!" She said and scampered off to go find Tsuna and Reborn.

As Kuroi ran through town searching for them, she wondered about what the training was for and how Reborn was even training Tsuna knowing how hopeless and useless he is. Was it like how Dino was training Hibari, or is it different?

Kuroi clouded her mind with so many questions and thoughts, she did not pay attention to where she was going and ended up getting lost... Again. Looking around for the signs that named what street she was on, someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind.

"What are you doing here?"

Kuroi turned around and saw Gokudera behind her. He was carrying a box, but she was too little to peer inside to see what was in it.

"Hayato!" She was relieved and cheerful at the same time.

"Why the heck are you out here by yourself?" He asked again.

"Oh... I was on my way to see Reborn, but I uh... Got lost... Again..." She said sheepishly and embarrassed.

"Man... You're hopeless," He said in a mixture of irritation and disbelief.

"Do you know where I can find Tsuna and Reborn?" Kuroi asked with anticipation for a good answer.

"Mmm..." Gokudera thought about for a minute, "I think he may be in the mountains..."

"Can you take me there?"

"Um... I guess so... I have to go there anyway," He reluctantly accepted.

"What for?"

"Training. I have some training to do with Shamal, that pervert."

"So what's in the box?" Kuroi's questions seemed endless.

He lowered the box for her to see, "Paper airplanes."

"How would paper airplanes help you with training?"

"Aiming."

"Huh...?"

"C'mon, I'm gonna be late if we don't go now," Gokudera said and started walking.

Kuroi gripped onto the side of his shirt and walked with him. The two of them walked down the street, heading for the mountains.

"So, why do you need to see Reborn-san and Juudaime?" Gokudera asked her.

"I got bored watching Hibari and Dino train, so I thought I'd see Tsuna, but you're good to see as well," She smiled up at him.

"Oh? So, how did you manage to get out of that bastard's sight without getting in trouble?" He asked her.

"I made a deal with Romario..." She smiled smugly.

It took a while before they ever reached the mountains in Namimori. Gokudera lead Kuroi through the forest and up some paths to a field where trees were scarce and the grass wasn't too tall. On top of a more elevated area, Shamal was laying down drinking... Something... And reading... Something... One could guess what he was reading and drinking...

As Gokudera and Kuroi approached, Shammal looked up at them.

"... It's the weird guy..." Kuroi hid behind Gokudera.

"Ah~ Hayato, you're back," He looked at his watch, "You're late. Were you out flirting with the young ladies? And without me!?"

"Nah- Hell no! I just did what you told me to do. Besides, I'm not some pervert like you! ... Bastard..."

"Oh...? So who is that hiding behind you?" Shamal smiled.

"Ah- um.. I was just escorting her. She wanted to see Juudaime and Reborn-san," He looked at her.

"I don't think you will be able to see them, my dear young lady," Shamal smiled his creepy smile, "Why don't you stay here with us for a while?"

"Shamal! You perverted bastard, what's wrong with you!?" Gokudera stood in front of Kuroi protectively.

"Nothing~ I'm just inviting the little lady to join us," His smile was too creepy for Kuroi to even look.

"Tch! Perverted, old doctor..." Gokudera mumbled under his breathe.

Gokudera walked up to where Doctor Shamal was and handed him the box of paper airplanes. Kuroi tagged along with him, but she stayed close behind Gokudera for she didn't want to go anywhere near the skirt-chasing, hopeless-romantic doctor.

"So, where is Tsuna?" Kuroi asked Gokudera.

"Um..." He held his chin in deep thought.

*_BBOOOOMMMM* (in background)_

Kuroi could see a large mushroom cloud behind Gokudera.

"I'm not sure..."

Kuroi looked at the explosion, then to Gokudera and then back to the explosion.

"Are you sure?" She asked in disbelief in that he couldn't tell if the explosion was related to Tsuna and Reborn's location.

"Yeah, I'm not sure exactly..." He was still thinking.

"Great use of your brain, Hayato. I'm sure that clever mind of your's won't fail you in the future," Doctor Shamal mocked Gokudera.

Kuroi couldn't help but laugh.

"Oi, little girl, I'm sure Reborn is in the direction where that explosion came from. Just head in that direction and you should be able to find him," Shamal informed.

"Um... Thank you," Kuroi ran off in the direction toward the cloud of smoke.

It was getting close to sundown before she spotted an area shrouded in smoke and dust. As the dirt, dust and smoke cleared, Kuroi was able to get a visual of Tsuna, Reborn, some guy about Tsuna's age and some other man.

Tsuna and the other boy were fighting, she could tell that much. What she didn't get was why Tsuna's clothes were missing, with the exception of his boxers.

Kuroi walked up to Reborn and the tall man.

"Reborn...?" Kuroi stopped walking, still confused about Tsuna's missing clothing.

Reborn and the man turned around to see Kuroi standing there by a tree.

"Sora? What're you doing here? Your are supposed to be with Hibari," Reborn said displeased.

"I... I got bored from watching him and Dino fight. I just wanted to see some of my-... I mean... Um... O-other people... I'm sorry. I'll go back," Kuroi turned around to start heading back, but Reborn stopped her.

"Wait a minute, please. Since you're already here, you might as well stay. I have someone I wish for you to meet," Reborn gestured to the tall man standing next to him.

Kuroi walked over to the two cautiously. She analyzed the man standing before her. He wore an orange jumpsuit, but didn't bother to put the top on, thus revealing his white muscle shirt underneath. He had short, spiky, blonde and a goatee-like beard. He also wore gloves and a helmet. He looked as if he were about to go mining.

When Kuroi got close enough, the man spoke.

"I presume you're the one Reborn's been talking about," He said to her with a smile.

"Huh...?" Kuroi tilted her head to the side in confusion, "Who are you?"

"My name is Sawada Iemitsu. It's nice to finally meet you," His smile never faltered.

"Sawada... You mean... You're Tsuna's father?" She asked him.

"Yes. Yes I am."

"So how do you know Reborn?" She continued to ask her questions.

"Um... We go way back..." He said vaguely.

Kuroi had a deadpanned look on her face.

"If you don't mind me asking, do you understand what the Vongola is?" Iemitsu was more serious now.

"Kind of..." She scratched her head.

"Can you tell me what you do know, then?" He pressed on.

"Um... I know that the Vongola is a mafia group and Tsuna is next in line for the position as Boss... Um... I know somewhat of the Dying Will Flame. And... I guess since it seems just about everyone is training, there must be some sort of battle going on... Or a battle that's about to happen... I don't really know, actually," She explained to him.

"You know more than I thought you would've known in the first place," Iemitsu seemed a little surprised, but he quickly recovered from it and knelt down so that he was at her level, "Um... Do you understand what the mafia is?"

"Yes. They're like gangs but more professional, and in the Vongola's case, they defend for the greater good. I think..." Kuroi looked up, pointing a finger toward her mouth, deep in thought.

"I guess that's one way of putting it. More or less, you get the idea. But, do you understand the dangers of a mafioso?" If it weren't possible, it seems that Iemitsu's demeanor increase its intensity level in seriousness.

"Uh..." Kuroi wasn't sure how to answer.

"May I...?" He reached down for her right hand, but he didn't touch her until she said so.

"Y-Yes..." Kuroi hesitantly rose her right hand and placed it in Iemitsu's rather large, masculine hand.

He analyzed the piece of jewelry that laid on her middle finger.

"I see... You were right, Reborn; it is her..."

"I told you it was," Reborn smirked.

"Haha, I guess I should've believed you from the start."

"What's me?" Kuroi interjected.

"You are the holder of the _Inferno_ Ring; the Ring of Black Sky."

"Oh, I've heard of that. Reborn mentioned it once, but I have no idea what it is."

"It holds a very strong power... And, unfortunately for you, there are many people who wish to have that kind of power and would do anything to get their hands on it. That's why you are being protected," He blinked and turned to Reborn, "She is being protected, right?"

"Yup. And, by Tsuna's strongest Guardian, too," Reborn smiled.

"I see... Well, that's good," He turned back to Kuroi, "You need to make sure that you're with your protector at all times. Which means: no running off. Even if you're bored, you mustn't leave their sight. If you do, bad things may happen to you if you're not protected. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir..." Kuroi felt guilty now that she's left Hibari when she's not supposed to. She didn't realize how dangerous it was for her to not be protected at all times.

"Alright. Ja~ I'll escort you back to the school. Let's go," Iemitsu faintly smiled at her.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari]_

Hibari and Dino remained in battle for quite some time and nearly destroyed the roof. Hibari was intent on defeating Dino. He did not want to join any sort of 'family'; he just wanted solitude. Forming together and creating little groups was something that herbivores do, and Hibari definitely did not consider himself to be a herbivore. Ergo, he was not intent on joining any sort of group. Hibari remembers the deal that Dino made with him...

_(FLASHBACK)_

_"Hey, Kyouya. Before we start today's training, I want to talk to you about the ring. Since it feels like I'm tricking you into something, it just doesn't feel right," Dino explained._

_"It's all right. I don't have any interest in the ring. All I care about is biting you to death," Hibari responded, raising his tonfas up._

_"Geez, you're troublesome," Dino scratched the back of his head._

_"Hey, if you don't fight me seriously, I'll throw this ring away," Hibari threatened._

_"Wha!? Wait! You bastard~~~~" Dino was anxious about Hibari's actions, "Fine, then, how about a trade. If I beat you in a serious fight, you have to join Tsuna's family."_

_"Fine."_

_Dino and Hibari readied their weapons and engaged in combat._

_(END OF FLASHBACK)_

Hibari was certain that he wouldn't lose to him. He was too strong for him to deal with.

Suddenly, he felt that something was out of place; something was missing. But, he wasn't sure what.

Dino and Hibari momentarily stopped fighting.

"What is it?" Dino lowered his whip a tad.

"Something's... Wrong..." Hibari still wasn't sure.

He looked around the area and scoped out for the cause of his disturbance. All he noticed was Romario casually leaning on the fence. Hibari's eyes widened a fraction. He walked over to Romario with an infuriated aura surrounding him.

"Where is she?" He demanded to have Rmario tell him her location in such a stern tone.

"She's not here, she's.. She uh... She went to see Reborn," Romario reluctantly revealed where she went.

"Where is he?" Hibari narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not sure. However, I know she wouldn't stay there that long."

Hibari was about to go on a rampage. Kuroi had just disobeyed him and on top of that, he has to deal with Dino. He didn't have time to look for her.

"H-Hey, Kyouya, calm down. I sure she's fine. After all, she is with Reborn," Dino tried to reassure him, but it didn't help at all.

Hibari walked up to Dino at a rather fast pace and rose a tonfa, about to strike Dino.

*_CLICK CLICK* (horrible door impression, I know)_

"Hibari...?"

"She stopped by for a little bit to chat. I hope you don't mind we've kept her from you, since you are her protector and all."

Hibari's eyes widened and he lowered his tonfas. Kuroi was standing in the doorway with a man he did not know.

"Who are you?" Hibari's sinister aura reappeared.

"Sawada Iemitsu. A friend of Reborn's," He smiled and turned to Kuroi, "I hope you've learned something from this."

"Yes," She smiled and ran off towards Hibari.

Kuroi gripped the cuff of his dress shirt, "I'm sorry I ran off. I won't do it again."

Hibari glared at her and then looked back at Iemitsu.

"I understand how important she is to you," He said to Hibari, "So, don't worry, I made sure she learned her lesson." Iemitsu winked at Kuroi and off.

Kuroi smiled and waved goodbye.

There was a moment of silence, until Dino broke it.

"Man, that guy..." Dino smiled to himself.

"You know him, Dino?" Kuroi asked him.

"Aa~ He's the External Advisor for the Vongola," He explained.

Suddenly, Hibari took Kuroi by the wrist and pulled her to the exit.

"Nah- W-Wait a minute! Where are you going!?" Dino shouted.

"I have business to take care of," Hibari stated.

"What about the fight?"

"I never said I wasn't going to finish it," With that said, Hibari and Kuroi disappeared from the roof, leaving Dino and Romario alone.

Hibari dragged Kuroi down to the Reception Room and sat her down on the couch. He wanted to scold her in any way possible. But, for some reason, he couldn't. His body just didn't allow him.

"Hibari...?" Kuroi called for him, unsure of what she should say.

Hibari looked at her. Without thinking, he rushed up to her and placed a fist down next to her head on the top part of the couch. To his surprise, she didn't flinch or even blink. She was motionless.

"... Don't ever run away again," He chided and took his hand away, "And, you are to stay here until I am done biting that herbivore to death."

Kuroi just looked at him with sullen eyes, repenting her past actions.

"... I'm sorry..." She couldn't look at him and kept her head down.

"If you ever do that again, I will bite you to death," He threatened.

"..."

Hibari turned to face the door and started to head back up to the roof. As he took a hold of the door to exit the Reception Room, he felt something encompass him. His eyes widened a fraction. He knew this feeling, he's felt it before... Whenever she repents... He feels it.

He tilted his had back to the side to get a better look. Kuroi was there, hugging him tightly. He could see a couple tears stream down her cheecks. He took a hold of her arms and easily released himself from her grasp.

He looked down at Kuroi and saw that she was staring down at the floor in a somber way. Unsure of what he should do, he rose his hand and set it on top of her head. This seemed to bring her back to reality. She shot her sight up at him. Hibari wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either. He was content. He kept his hand there for a few more seconds and then allowed it to fall back to his side.

Kuroi stared at him in shock. Obviously she wasn't use to this kind of treatment from him, let alone anyone.

"Hmpf," Hibari smirked faintly and walked out of the room, heading back up to the roof.

As he walked, he stared down at his hand, wondering why he preformed those affectionate actions. It was unlike him to do anything like that. What was the deal with him? He wasn't a herbivore. Only herbivores have those kind of petty feelings. So, why was this little girl making him do this? He's never done anything like that before to anyone. She was changing him. That was all he knew...

[END]

* * *

YYYAAYYYYY! I finally finished this long awaited chapter! I hope you guys liked it.

The next chapter may or may not be posted for a couple of days because I'm so busy. :'( I'm sorry guys and gals! But I will update no matter what!

Anyway, tell me in a review what you think and let me know your favorite part and (or) quote. Until next time, I will see you in the next update.

POOF!


	15. Adversaries

**Good news! I've finally finished a drawing of Kuroi! Check out my DeviantART account, Mysteare, if you want to see what she looks like.** I'm sorry that my chapters are being posted later and later. I'm trying my best to get them in. But, for now, you'll just have to be patient with me. And as a reminder, I may or may not skip some of the ring battles. It just depends on how I feel. Plus, I write whatever pops into my head. Everything I write isn't pre-planned, it's more spontaneous. So sometimes even I surprise myself with the outcome of the chapter.

Anyway, here is the long awaited chapter fifteen. Enjoy!

I do not own any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters and things I have created.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Over the next day, Dino was moving Hibari's training all over Namimori. Since, Hibari didn't want Kuroi to leave his sight, she was forced to travel with them. She still grew bored watching them fight, but at least she had Romario with her. Occasionally, he'd take her out somewhere to eat or he would play some sort of game with her, but it wasn't that entertaining.

When Dino and Hibari finally decided to take a break, Kuroi walked over to them.

"Neh~ Hibari..." Kuroi stood in front of him with an expression on her face that made her look as if she were dying, "Can we do something fun...? I'm... So... Bbbbooorrreeedddd."

"No," He denied her bluntly.

"Why not? All you two are doing is fighting in different areas. It's boring," Kuroi pouted.

"Deal with it," Hibari wasn't being any fun for her.

"... Your no fun," Kuroi said deadpanned.

"And, you're annoying me," Hibari retorted.

"Awe c'mon, Kyouya. She just wants to have some fun. I don't see why we can't take a short break from the training and entertain her," Dino tried to persuade Hibari to give in and play with her.

"I have no interest in playing games," Hibari continued to reject the notion.

"Well, then can you at least give me something to do?" Kuroi was practically begging for any sort of form of entertainment.

"Hmm..." Hibari went into deep thought.

"Please!" Kuroi pleaded.

"..." Hibari couldn't think of anything for her to do.

"Um... If you don't mind me saying; I have an idea..." Romario interjected his own words.

In the end, Dino and Romario resulted in taking Kuroi to a music shop.

"Don't take too long, all right?" Dino didn't want to stay long since he has to fight a demon who is impatient beyond belief.

"Okay!" Kuroi ran inside and gawked at all of the musical instruments.

"Try to pick out something that's portable and easy to carry," Dino was a little worried that she might try to pick something that was either extremely expensive or to big to carry.

Kuroi walked around the shop and found all sorts of instruments that appealed to her. She saw all sorts of guitars, keyboards, violins, saxophones, drum sets, etcetera. She was so overwhelmed by the variety, she wasn't able to choose. Kuroi would go over to one instrument and then spot something else and go over to the other one. It seemed that it was too much for her to handle.

Then, something caught her eyes: a beautiful black keyboard that was small enough for her to carry. She ran over to it and smiled at Dino.

"This one. I like this one," She held it up to him.

Dino took it in his hands and observed it, "It's not bad."

Dino turned it over to find the price tag. His jaw dropped to the floor, "Na- Ku-Kuroi-chan... This is... Expensive."

"It is? But, it's the cheapest one here," She looked at him innocently.

"Wha-?! That can't be true..." Dino found it hard to believe and started scanning over the prices of the other keyboards. Sure enough, all of the other keyboards were more expensive than the one Kuroi picked out.

"Wh-Why would they make the prices for this so high...? Geez..." Dino scratched the back of his head.

"Please," Kuroi pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

"Eh-er.. Uh..." Dino stuttered, "Uuuhhhh... It's-... It's just that it's so expensive..."

"Pllleeaaassssese?" Kuroi raised her hands in a praying mode.

"I... Don't think..." Dino started.

"Please!" Kuroi was pulling on his shirt.

"I... Um..." Dino was suffering internal conflict by now.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssseeeeeee eeeeeee," She fell to the floor, looking up at him and still gripping his shirt.

"Kuroi-chan..." Dino was flustered. He didn't want to give in, but another part of him was saying otherwise.

"Pppppppppllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssss ssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee," Kuroi continued and hooked herself onto Dino's leg, wrapping her whole body around it.

"Oi, Ku-Kuroi-chan...!?" Dino was drenched in perspiration, which was entirely out of being conflicted.

"Pppplllleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaa-"

"How long are you going to keep this up?"

"Until forever- aaaaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssseeeeeeeee!"

Dino stared at her in disbelief. Finally he sighed and gave in.

"All-... All right... I'll get it for you, okay? Just stop looking at me with those adorable eyes like that," He smiled.

"Yay! Thank you, Dino!" She smiled brightly and released his leg from her grasp.

"Y-Yeah..." Dino grinned sheepishly.

Dino purchased the new keyboard, and the three headed back to their previous destination to continue Hibari's training.

As Hbari and Dino were training, Kuroi played multiple songs on her new keyboard. Eventually, the sun went down and Kuroi grew tired and sleepy. She got up and walked toward Hibari, whom of which was in the middle of a fight.

"Neh~ Hibari? I'm getting sleepy... Can we go home, now?" Kuroi asked while rubbing her eye.

"..." No response. He either didn't hear her, or he was purposefully ignoring her.

"Hibari!?" She called out for him.

"..." Still no response.

"Hibari!" She shouted.

"What do you want?" He was unhappy that she was interrupting him.

"Can we go home?" She repeated her question from before.

"No," He said as he swung at Dino.

"Why not?" She whined.

"I'm busy," Hibari replied.

"But, I'm tired and hungry, and I want to go home," She continued to whine.

"I don't care," He said as he dodged the whip that Dino had in his hands.

"Please," She begged.

"No."

"Pppplllllleeeaaassseeeee!"

"No."

"Oh, no. Kyouya, you'd better say yes or-" Dino was interrupted.

"Ppppppppplllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaa aaassssssssseeeeeee!"

"If you make me repeat myself again, I'll bite you to death, herbivore," He threatened.

Kuroi sulked and walked towards their fight. When Hibari jumped backwards to dodge Dino's attack, he landed near Kuroi. She, then, took this as an opportunity to persuade him. Kuroi attached herself onto Hibari's left leg and hugged him tightly, thus not allowing him much mobility.

"What are you doing?" His voice was stern, and she could tell she officially ticked him off. He gave her a cold stare that was cold enough to the point where it could cause the Sahara Desert to freeze over and become a wasteland of snow instead of sand.

"Get off of me, now, or I'll bite you to death," He repeated the same threat he always uses.

"But, I wanna go hoommmeee!" Kuroi complained.

"No. Besides, even if we did, it's out of walking distance," He explained.

"Well, the school is closer. Can we go to the school, then?"

"Na- I don't think that would be a good idea, ahaha..."Dino said nervously.

Hibari narrowed his eyes, "And, why is that?"

Not remembering that Kuroi was still attached to his leg, he stomped over to Dino in a threatening manner while holding up his tonfas.

"Ah-uh... Ahahaha, c'mon Kyouya, put those down. It's nothing bad, I promise," Dino rose his hands up in defense.

"Then, why do you say it would not be wise to visit the school?" Hibari took a step closer toward Dino.

"Eh... It's just that it wouldn't be safe, you know? It wouldn't be safe to head down to the school at night, is all. Ahahaha.. Haha..." Dino was obviously hiding something, but Hibrai decided to not go into the discussion any further.

"Whatever..." Hibari turned his attention to Kuroi, "Get off."

"Can you at least let me go and stay in the Reception Room?" Kuroi tried to negotiate.

Hibari sighed silently and turned to Romario, "You. Take her to the school."

"O-Oi, Kyouya," Dino protested.

"It's all right, Boss," Romario anxiously smiled and turned to Kuroi, "Ja~ shall we be off, then?"

Kuroi looked at him and then to Hibari. He gestured for her to go, so she got up and walked away with Romario. As the two were heading off, she turned back to look at Hibari. He was watching her as she walked away. Kuroi's expression turned sullen, but she didn't understand why. Though, she may be with Romario, she suddenly felt very alone.

The two walked back into the town and went in the direction of the school. Along the way, Romario and Kuroi stopped by a small restaurant and grabbed something quick to eat as a dinner. When they finished, they returned to their small journey.

It was getting pretty late by the time they finally got to the school's entrance. The two stopped at the front doors.

"Will you be alright from here on?" Romario asked her.

"Yes. Thank you," She replied distantly and stepped inside, leaving him outisde at the front.

Kuroi ventured up to the Reception Room. As she walking down one of the back hallways, a bright light coming from outside lit up the hallway as the light travelled through the windows. Kuroi stopped in her tracks, and her eyes widened. She turned slowly in the light's direction. It was too bright for her to see anything, so she held her arm up to shield some of it.

When her eyes adjusted to the sudden change in lighting, she was able to focus in on a group of familiar silhouettes. She turned her head to right a little and noticed a completely unfamiliar and unrecognizable group on the other side of the blinding lights.

"Who are..." She trailed off.

Kuroi became curious and headed down to the first floor to go check out who those people were, what the lights were for and why those people were there. Unfortunately, her longing to understand more got the best of her.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari]_

With Kuroi gone, Hibari felt that he was missing something for some reason. He felt that he was in a state of longing for something he didn't have. But, he already had pretty much everything. It didn't make much sense to him. His feelings seemed to be out of order. Why was this happening to him, he wondered? And why did he feel regret while he watched Kuroi, the one person who causes him so many problems, walk away from him? Had he grown attached to her? That couldn't be possible. Hibari isn't a herbivore; he doesn't have unnecessary feelings.

In confusion and frustration, Hibari rose his tonfas to fight Dino, yet again. He didn't want to have anything to do with these types of weak feelings. It made him petty and vulnerable in a way. Thinking about this made him angrier and angrier.

"Kyouya... You alright there?" Dino was confused and bewildered by Hibari's actions as well as the terrifying aura around him.

"..." Hibari didn't say anything and continued stalking up to Dino.

Dino backed up a bit and wondered why Hibari was acting different from usual. He lunged for Dino, and because of Dino's clumsiness whenever his subordinates weren't around, it wasn't much of a fight considering Dino basically screwed up and attacked himself.

"Hmpf... That wasn't a real fight," Hibari said to his victim, "You weren't serious, so it doesn't count."

He walked over to a tree and sat down, leaning up against it. Hibird flew down and landed on his shoulders. Hibari began to drift off to sleep, since he had nothing better to do.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Kuroi walked down the halls, trying to get back to the front entrance. She made it to the front and rounded around the school to go to the light's origin. When she finally made it, the two groups were more distinguishable, and the lights seemed to come from some sort of boxing ring.

Who were these people?

Kuroi wandered cautiously up to the unfamiliar people. As she got closer, she was able to see a few familiar faces, though the light was blinding her. Kuroi was able to see some of the distinct facial features, and her eyes widened. The closest person to her that she could see had distinctive silver, chin-length hair.

"Ha-Hayato...?" She called out confused and unsure of what to do. The longer she stayed in the briht lights, the more she was having trouble seeing.

"Na- Sora-chan!" She knew that voice; it was Tsuna.

"O-Oi, what are you doing here, you stupid, little girl!?" The voice closest to her sounded like Gokudera's.

"Hm? Kuroi is here?" Yamamoto was here, as well?

Why were they all here? What were they doing? And, at such a late time, too?

Kuroi idly walked up closer to the recognizable group of friends. She heard footsteps come her way.

"Oi, kora! Why the hell are you here so late? Shouldn't you be with Hibari?" It was Gokudera that came up to her.

Kuroi held her head up with here eyes shut, "I'm tired and Hibari is busy training. I came here because it was closer than home. I was going to the Reception Room when these lights distracted me... Why are you here?"

"I'll explain later..." He said and then smirked, "Cheh. Damn, you're hopeless."

Gokudera bent down and picked her up. He carried her back over to Tsuna and the others where Reborn gave her sunglasses so that she could see.

"What is that boxing ring for?" She asked as soon as she could see.

"It's the battleground for the scramble battle for the Vongola's Ring of Sun," Reborn explained to her as he sat on Yamamoto's shoulder.

"Huh?" She cocked her head to the side in confusion, "Why are they fighting over a ring?"

"Well, to put it in terms you'll understand; those guys over there," Reborn pointed to the group of odd people on the other side of the boxing ring, "They are bad guys that are trying to take these special rings from us which are very powerful."

"Oh... So they're meaners?" She asked.

"Yup."

"VVVVOOOOIIIII! Why is there a little brat here!?"

"I think my ears are bleeding..." Kuroi said holding her head.

She turned her head in the direction of the loud-mouth. A person with long, white hair appeared to be the one shouting.

"That lady has really long hair," Kuroi said.

Suddenly, Gokudera, Tsuna and Yamamoto were laughing a little, or at least trying to hold back a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Kuroi was utterly confused.

"VVOOOIIIIII! YOU STUPID BRAT, I'M NOT A WOMAN, I'M A F*CK*NG MAN!" She, or rather he, shouted.

"Oi, kora! No one calls her stupid, except me!" Gokudera shouted back.

"Gokudera-kun..." Tsuna had an 'Da-F*ck' expression on his face.

"Well, it's true... I really am the only person who calls her stupid," Gokudera turned his attention to Kuroi, "I'm the only person who calls you stupid, right?"

"Yup!" She replied cheerfully.

"See!"

"A-Aa~..." Tsuna's expression didn't change.

"Ushishi~ they're such a lively group."

Kuroi looked over at a blonde that had a striped shirt and a tiara. Their fringe covered their eyes. How did they see?

"Look, that person has a tiara. They must be a princess!" Kuroi got excited.

Everyone went silent. Then, there was a burst of laughter coming from either group. The blonde didn't look too happy.

"Why is everyone laughing...?" Kuroi's smile disappeared, and she looked at everyone.

"... I'm not a princess... I'm a prince. And this isn't a tiara, it's a crown," He was smiling, but Kuroi could tell he was angry.

"Oh... I'm sorry, Mr. Prince," Kuroi felt so embarrassed that she made two gender mistakes.

"Ushishi~... At least she shows respect to royalty," He didn't seem as angry as before.

"What an interesting girl," A hooded baby said as he stood on a giant robot's hand.

"Oi, Lussuria, hurry up and finish the fight, already!" The long-haired exclaimed.

Kuroi looked at the boxing ring and saw a tall, muscular, weird looking man standing in an odd pose facing a teenaged boy that wasn't wearing a shirt, nor sunglasses. His white hair was short and spiky and he was lying on the floor, covered in sweat and was completely dehydrated. His left hand looked nearly broken. He looked as if he were about to give up.

"Hey, stand up!"

"Colonello!" Tsuna was surprised to see him.

Kuroi looked up and saw a military styled-looking baby with a blue pacifier and a gun. He was held up in the air by a large bird.

"Hey, that shorty is the Arcobaleno, Colonello," The long-haired said, "Why is he here?"

"It's about time. Go and show him your true strength, Ryohei!" The military baby shouted.

"No matter who talks, it's useless," Lussuria smirked, "This boy is finished, and I'll have him."

"Master... Colonello...!" Ryohei started to get up, "I've been waiting for those words!"

Kuroi was confused as to what was going on. She thought about it for a second. Then, she remembered that everyone was training in combat skills, and everyone who is training has a ring. And since Ryohei is part of Tsuna's group, he must have one, as well. Reborn also said that the other group is fighting Tsuna and the others for the rings, so this must be what everyone is training for. So then there's only one question: if Hibari is fighting, who will he fight and ...will he even win?

[END]

* * *

Yes! I finally finished a chapter. I'm sorry it's taking so long to put these out, but at least I'm trying. I'm still working on some projects, so the chapter updates will still come in late. But, hey, at least we started into a battle.

**Reminder: check my DeviantART page, Mysteare, if you want a visual of what Kuroi looks like.**

Anyway, tell me what you think in a review and let me know your favorite part and (or) quote. Until next time, I will see you in the next update.

POOF!


	16. Memories

Hey everyone! Sorry it's taking so long to update the chapters. I'm getting tons of requests to draw pictures for people and I have to finish them. But, I'm excited that I finally get to write another chapter for Black Sky. So, in the last chapter, Ryohei's master, Colonello showed up and enthused Ryohei to stand up to beat his opponent, Lussuria. Oh, and Kuroi went to the school during the fight and met the Varia and got their genders mixed up.

But, anyway, I still need to finish my other projects. I still haven't finished my other story that's in the works that has NOT been published yet. It's called Hunted. It's another KHR fanfic, but this one is solely humor and horror with no OC characters. It's a rather long one-shot which has about 4,500 words so far. And it's only about halfway through. I'm sure you'll all enjoy it. I would've put it into chapters, but with the way it's written, it just wouldn't seem right.

Well, thank you for waiting patiently. Here is chapter Sixteen. Enjoy!

I do not own any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All rights go to Akira Amano, except for the characters and things I have created.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

"Onii-san got up!" Tsuna was relieved that Ryohei wasn't giving up just yet, "B... But is he alright?"

"His sweat is steaming and making sizzling noises!" Yamamoto exclaimed.

Kuroi looked at Ryohei curiously. She was unsure as to why exactly they were fighting, and what worried her was that he did not seem to be in any good condition to continue to fight. She was anxious that he might inflict more damage upon himself.

"The way your body is made is different from mine. I bet you can't last in the scorching light," Lussuria taunted, "Hurry up and die so you can be part of my corpse collection."

"No...! Not yet!" Ryohei got up off the floor, "Yeah... It didn't affect you at all... My LEFT one didn't."

Judging by the other group's reactions, they all seemed to be confused or surprised. Kuroi watched them carefully. She didn't feel fear when she was around the lively group dressed in black clothing, she felt uncertainty. They seemed strange to her as if they were hiding something. Suspicious.

"That's right, ever since he saved Fuuta and the others," Reborn realized, "He's only been punching with his left hand."

"That's right! He never punched with his right, kora!" Colonello shouted in agreement.

"But why?" Tsuna asked them.

"One is to give the cells a rest and make sure they're in a perfect condition," Colonello explained with a smirk on his face, "Another is because he is the Sun Guardian!"

'_Sun Guardian...? What's that?'_ Kuroi thought to herself. She's never heard the term before. She had no idea what a Sun Guardian, let alone any guardian was. It was all so new to her.

"This right fist exists only to turn the extreme disadvantage around I have!" Ryohei proclaimed while clenching his right fist.

"Oh my~ That's like the best! You're so funny!" Lussuria cleared and laughed.

Since, Kuroi was still being carried by Gokudera, she turned her attention away from the fight and looked at him. She rose her hand and took a lock of his hair and tugged at it. This snapped Gokudera's attention to divert it to her.

"O-Oi, don't pull my hair!" He scolded her.

Ignoring what he said, she pulled on it again.

"Oi, kora, stop that!" He demanded and grabbed her small, playful hand.

"Whas so funny?" She asked him.

Gokudera rose an eyebrow. He thought that she believed he was laughing.

"What's funny? I wasn't laughing," He toned down his raspy voice.

"That odd man-she up there was laughing? Why?" Kuroi turned here head to the side slightly.

Gokudera blinked and his eye twitched.

"Eh... What did you say, Sora-chan...?" Tsuna asked her with a 'da-f*ck' expression written all over his face.

"'Why?'," She repeated.

"No, no... Before that..." Tsuna's expression remained the same.

"...mmm..." Kuroi thought about it.

"What did you call that pervert?" Gokudera spat out.

"A man-she?" She made it sound more like a question.

"..." Everyone was totally silent.

"Pfft... PUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Tsuna's group laughed with the exception of Kuroi, Reborn and Colonello.

Reborn and Colonello smiled in amusement, but Kuroi was utterly confused as to what was so funny.

"Now, what's so funny...?" She tugged on Gokudera's hair again.

"A 'man-she'? What's that!? Is it supposed to be related to a banshee? Hahahahaha!" Gokudera laughed.

"VVVOOOOIIIIIIIII! What the hell is so funny!?" The man with long white hair yelled in confusion.

"Well, apparently, your pervert friend in there is a 'man-she'!" Gokudera teased.

The whole Varia went silent.

"WHAT THE F*CK IS THAT!?" He shouted.

"What a hurtful little girl!" Lussuria said in his song-filled voice.

"I'm sorry..." Kuroi apologized, "It's just that that man in there is, or at least I think he's a man... Well... He's just so... Girly."

"Humm... First Squalo, then Bel and now Lussuria... I wonder who she will insult next," The hooded baby sitting on a robot's hand said.

"I hope Levi's next. I'm sure she'll say something hysterical to him, ushishi~" Bel laughed.

"Shut up!" The tall, brutish man with dark skin and Reborn's hairstyle protested.

"Hmpf... Well, whatever," Lussuria turned back to Ryohei, "I don't know how great that punch that you've been saving up all this time is, but..."

Lussuria started running in a circle as fast as he could. It was hard to tell where he really was. Seeing him move like that made Kuroi dizzy, so she looked away and buried her face into the side of Gokudera's neck.

"Oi, w-what are you doing, you stupid girl!?" Gokudera was flustered.

"It seems that she's nauseous from Lussuria's fast movements," Reborn explained.

"... If you can't hit me, there's no point," Lussuria concluded.

"Such amazing footwork!" Gokudera was in awe.

"Onii-san... And he can barely see right now, too...!" Tsuna became extremely worried for Ryohei.

Lussuria punched Ryohei on the side of his face, sending him back down to the ground.

"Onii-san!" Tsuna called out for him.

"I'm... Fine..." Ryohei struggled a little to get back up, "Let's go."

Ryohei stood strong in a battle stance meant for boxing.

"Oh?" The blonde prince was slightly perplexed by Ryohei's audacity to keep going.

"He's got some aura there," The hooded baby stated.

"That's his right..." Gokudera seemed worried.

Lussuria circled around Ryohei.

"There..." Ryohei swung his fist and uppercutted Lussuria, "Maximum Cannon!"

"He... He did it!" Tsuna was relieved and shocked at the same time.

Lussuria turned his body upright and landed safely on the ground, "If it was a clean hit, it probably would've been risky."

"No... Now way. It was only a little."

"No. It was a hit for sure," Ryohei was confident on his statement.

*_CRACK CRACK CRA-CRACK*_

Suddenly, the lights started to break and remnants of them fell down to the ground. Ryohei continued to send several punches toward the lights. All of them shattering.

"It looks like I can finally fight you on even terms. I can open my eyes now!"

Everyone was able to take off their glasses now.

"Whether you have your eyes opened or not, I don't care," Lussuria was uneasy, "What's unbelievable is that his fist has the power to break the lights."

"Lussuria," Bel called, "Take a good look at his body."

He looked at Ryohei and analyzed him, "What!? Sand...? No. That's...! What!? Salt!? Salt crystals!? I see. It's because of the sweat he produced from dehydration. Water in his sweat evaporated due to the heat and left behind the salt crystals. Then, he put the salt on his fists and shot it like a shotgun."

"Even if you notice it now, it's too late."

"Oh? Ohohohohoho! Don't make me laugh too much! My muscles will crack even more."

"What..."

"The reason why I was a little scared was because I thought you cracked the lights with the pressure from your fists. Since the only one who was able to release such a punch, was the the First Generation Sun Guardian. But, a cheap trick like this, even I can do that."

Lussuria rushed Ryohei and swung a punch at him. Ryohei was able to dodge, but his adversary grazed the side of his cheek. The salt crystals flew off and went toward the lights, causing them to shatter more.

"Wha?!"

"He grazed the salt off the lawn head...!" Gokudera was getting anxious.

"And used the same trick!?" Tsuna exclaimed.

Kuroi stared at their opponents blankly. She didn't understand them too well, but she knew that she didn't like them that much. They were too loud, obnoxious and conceited for her to handle.

"No, it requires more technique than that. He blew the salt crystals off Ryohei's body with the power of his fist," Reborn paraphrased, "That is what you call Varia Quality."

"'Varia Quality'...? Those people over there are called the Varia? That's a weird name," Kuroi said.

"The Varia takes on missions that are said to be impossible for mere, regular humans to do. They are a group of genius assassins that would complete their missions to perfection, regardless of the situation they are placed in. Their so-called demonic works or their high leveled skills in killing is considered Varia Quality by the people who are astonished," Reborn didn't miss a beat when he spoke.

Kuroi started zoning out and didn't pay anymore attention to what anyone had to say. She started thinking more about... Well anything. She thought about what's for dinner tomorrow, she thought about her stuffed rabbit, she thought about muffins, she thought about... Eliminating all existence of bananas...

Thinking about destroying bananas made her think about how she grew attached to the idea of hating them. She remembered it clearly: she was sitting in her old home, when her family was still alive, watching an old cartoon. It was about random adventures of three unicorns and at her age, she loves unicorns.

One day there was an episode she'd watch. In this particular episode, the three unicorns faced many dangers, and the cause of all the dangers was because of a peculiar character in the form of a... Banana. The banana called himself Barney; Barney the Banana Boy. (notice reference to the banana from the chapter where Kuroi destroyed a banana stand? Remember the name Barney?)

Barney the Banana Boy tried to destroy the unicorns. He'd set the forest on fire to kill them, he'd try to trap them in caves or some other place where they can't get out easily, he'd even try to kill them by summoning his Banana Binions (minions) to do the job for him in any way possible. Even with all these attempts, he did not prevail. But, because of all these attacks on the unicorns, Kuroi developed a passion for hating the bananas. She didn't want a unicorn to be hurt ever again by a stupid banana.

Thinking about those hateful bananas started to make her a little angry. So, in order to calm herself down, she thought of other random things to ease her mind off of the hellish fruit.

Kuroi tried to think about anything and everything. Finally she last thought about Hibari. She thought about what he was going through right now. She wondered how his training was going and if Dino was still alive. She chuckled a little at the thought of Dino being sprawled out on the ground unconscious. It made her laugh. Those two were just so funny to her. They made her happy. But... Really... Hibari made her happy.

Suddenly, she felt all alone. It was not just because she was separated from Hibari, though. It also seemed to have to do with the absence of a true family. She felt deprived of it. And the thought of her late family made her long for them more and more. She missed them.

Kuroi could remember the heat; the orange, red and yellow gleaming and lightening every inch of the house in gold and red flames. Not a corner was left unscathed by burning light.

She remembered how she ran for her parents bedroom that one night, only to find that the ceiling caved in and offered no route in or out of her parents' room. They were absolutely and utterly trapped in the burning flames of torture...

_[FLASHBACK]_

_"Get out! Leave us! We'll be fine!" She could heard the sound of her mother's shouting, pleading voice_

_"No, Mommy, I can't leave you!" Kuroi could feel the salty tears that filled her eyes and ran down her cheaks like pouring down rain on a window._

_"Please! Get out of here, now! We'll try to find a way out. There are windows in here! If we hurry, we canー" Her father's stern words echoed in her ears, but his words were cut off by the fragments of the ceiling raining down, covering the only entrance to her parents' room._

_"Daddy...! Mommy...! Please... Say something!" Her eyes were wide and red, filled with tears that streamed down her face, "NNOOOO! MOMMY! ... DADDY! PLEEEAAASSEE!"_

_She screamed and screamed, but no answer was heard. The ceiling was about collapse to trap her inside. The flames were encompassing her quickly, so as long as she stayed there, she would die a burning, torturous death. Kuroi dashed for an exit and climbed out of a window. She landed on the soft grass._

_Kuroi got up and stumbled across the lawn, trying to get away from the burning house. When she was at a safe distance, she watched red and orange blaze eat away at her beloved home. The light of the inferno reflected off of her skin and eyes. It was utter hell for her. What happened to her family? Why was it destroyed so suddenly, ripped away from her and never seen again?_

_Something caught her eye. Something, noー... Someone was standing in the woods next to the burning house, gazing upon it. The person took on a man's form. His skin was pale and glistened in the fiery light, as did his white pants. The rest of his clothing were too dark to see any detailing. He turned his attention to her and smiled. Who was this man...? There was not one other person here besides him and Kuroi..._

_Kuroi fell to her knees and stared at him in return in pain and suffering. He did this. And that was all she knew._

_[END OF FLASHBACK]_

"... Oi... Ku... I... Kuro... Roi... Kuroi!"

Kuroi snapped out of her horrible nightmare of a memory. Gokudera, Tsuna, Reborn and Yamamoto were staring at her intensely. They new something was up by the way she was clutching Gokudera's shirt.

"Hey, are you alright?" Yamamoto asked her with a concerned expression.

"I'm sorry... I was just... Thinking is all," Kuroi dropped her gaze and looked to the floor.

Kuroi looked over toward the boxing ring. A young girl with short, orange hair was begging Ryohei, her brother, to stop fighting. However, he did not give up that easily. Ryohei stood up once again, fury burning inside him. He was more passionate about winning than ever before.

"I will show you! This is my true MAXIMUM CANNON!" Ryohei raised his right fist and ended up punching Lussuria's metal knee again. However, this time, the knee cracked, and shattered into pieces.

"It... It can't be! My metal knee can't be crushed!" Lussuria was nervous and in pain.

Kuroi observed the fallen man on the ground, though he got up. However, he was extremely nervous and was shaking.

Suddenly, something blasted him in the back . The giant robot's hand was smoking. It took out its own ally.

"'Erasing the weak.' one of the reasons why the Varia is the strongest of them all," Reborn explained, "Lussuria was scared of that; that was why he was so anxious to continue."

Pink-haired twins intervined between the two fighters.

"At this moment, Lussuria is unable to battle. Therefor, Sasagawa Ryohei is the victor of the scramble battle for the Ring of Sun," The two explained, "This is the end of tonight's match. But, from now on we shall announce the new battle's participants. Tomorrow night's battle will be... The match between the Thunder Guardians."

Tsuna was worried that Lambo would have to fight. Everyone was still in shock that the Varia would even take out their own.

The robot went into the ring and scooped up Lussuria and handed the ring to Ryohei. Ryohei connected the two rings and gave it to Tsuna. Apparently, it was their first victory and the first battle so far.

Everyone finally decided to depart, and Gokudera set Kuroi down on the ground.

"So, where are you headed?" He asked her.

"I'm staying here. I told Hibari I would," She smiled.

"Alright, then, see ya'," He waved her goodbye and left.

Kuroi walked back inside and headed for the Reception Room. She stepped inside and laid down on the couch. Kuroi eventually fell asleep from thinking so much about the battle, about the training, about her family and about that man she saw... All those years ago...

[END]

* * *

Yyyaaaayyy! I finished it! I hope you guys liked it. Sorry about the suspense, but you have to admit, it answered some of your questions about her past, didn't it? Anyway, I'll be sure to get the next chapter posted as soon as possible.

So, does anyone remember Barney the banana from a few chapters ago?

And if I haven't said it before, I will say it now; I am an official beta-reader, so if you'd like me to beta-read your story for advice, revision and to edit it to make it better, just let me know.

Thank you for your patience. Tell me what you think about the chapter in a review and let me know your favorite part and (or) quote. Until next time, I will see you in the next update.

POOF!


	17. Interference

Okay, so we just finished the Sun Battle, and next is the Thunder battle. Poor Lambo. Stupid Levi has to ruin everything. Anyway, yes, I'm still a bit busy with my requests, but I'm getting them done. I've finished about seven requests and few of my own drawings.

I know that the Thunder Battle gets pretty involved with the story, but I don't think I'm going to have it all in there because it could take up about three chapters, and I don't want that. So I'm going to shorten it a bit to save time. I don't think I'm going to do the Storm Battle either (Sorry Belphegor and Gokudera fans!), because that's when Hibari finally comes back. I will, however, do the Mist Battle since Mukuro is in it, and it would be pretty interesting to see what Kuroi does when she sees him, let alone Chrome. Cloud Battle I will also do, and the Sky Battle... That one will be interesting...

Anyway, here is chapter seventeen! Enjoy my minions- I mean- enjoy the... Story... Yeah...

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari]_

Hibari went back to the school late at night knowing that Kuroi was still there. Dino was acting a bit odd when he left. He acted as if he didn't want Hibari to leave to go to the school; like there was something there that he shouldn't see.

He entered the school grounds and looked around, observing his surroundings. Nothing was out of place; everything was as he left it. He walked in through the entrance and headed up to the Reception Room. When he finally got to the room, he paused a few seconds before entering. He didn't hear her at all and wondered if she was already asleep. Hibari slid the front door open and walked in while scanning the room for her. She was resting in his chair behind his desk facing the window. She sat sideways in the chair and rested her head against the backrest. She was sound asleep curled up in a ball.

Hibari narrowed his eyes, though not so much as out of annoyance. He strode over to her sleeping body and looked over her. The position of the chair pointed toward the window. Hibari looked out of the window to see what exactly she was facing. It turns out that she was watching the front entrance and the school's gates. Most likely to see if he was coming or not. She must've been waiting for him to show up.

"Hn," Hibari smirked and turned back to Kuroi.

Knowing that she was asleep and is always extremely hard to wake up, he reluctantly bent down and scooped her up in his arms.

"Uuunnn... Mmmmm..." She mumbled in protest.

Hibari ignored her and carried her out of the room to take her home. Kuroi remained unconscious of being moved.

About halfway through his walk, Kuroi started mumbling to herself.

"Nnnnnn... Mmm.. Ai...ff.. Ahl...t..." She muttered in her sleep.

"Hnn...?" Hibari looked down at Kuroi as he continued walkingi.

She looked distressed as she slept in his arms. Her painful expression was giving off a vibe of worry. Kuroi gripped his shirt in her small hand and started to retract herself into a small ball. She looked as though she were having a nightmare.

"... Mmy... Fah... Fahl...t..." She continued.

Hibari blinked in confusion. A few tears started to stream slowly down her cheaks silently.

"... My... Fault..." She choked out with less pauses than before.

"Hnn..." Hibari didn't understand what she was at fault for, but he wasn't one for prying, so he didn't pay much more attention to her mumbling.

When they finally made it home, Hibari went in and laid her down on her bed. She didn't say much more after a few minutes of her rambling. But, she seemed to have remained in a depressed state. Hibari wondered what brought that on and why she was not acting her usual self. But then again, he didn't entirely care, either.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

The next morning, Kuroi woke up in her bed. It was strange to her considering that she distinctly remembered falling asleep in the Reception Room. How did she get here? Did Hibari come to get her? Kuroi considered that to be highly possible since no one else ever dares to enter his house, even if he does give permission.

Kuroi took note that she was still wearing her clothes from yesterday, so she decided to change into something new. She went to her closet and picked out a white dress that had a layer of white lace covering the entire dress, and a large, white bow wrapped around her waist. The ribbon of the bow went down past the skirt, to her ankles. For some reason, she decided not to wear any stockings, let alone shoes. Walking barefoot never bothered her anyway since she did it all the time when she didn't have shoes.

Kuroi jogged downstairs to the kitchen to see if Hibari was there. When she stepped foot into the kitchen, she noticed there wasn't a single trace of him. Since she was already down in the main area where all the food is kept, she thought that she might as well get something to eat. She combed through the pantry and found her box of muffins. When she was about to take a bite of a chocolate chip muffin, she looked down and caught sight of a new muffin she's never seen before. She looked at the label and her eyes widened. On the label, in bold letters, read the word: BANANA.

Kuroi dropped the box and stared at it intensely. How could her muffins betray her? Is she supposed to hate it now since it's affiliated with bananas? Should she eat it since it's a muffin!? What should she do?

She finally decided to ditch the muffin. She took it out of the box and chucked it at the window, which was conveniently left open, and went back to enjoying her delicious delicacies of pure, non-banana, muffins.

The front door opened, revealing an inky, jet black-haired demon with a scowl plastered to his face. Though, that wasn't the only thing plastered to his face...

Hibari walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Hiba-..." Kuroi stopped when she noticed muffin crumbs over his right eye, "Um... You got a little something right over..."

"I know," He said annoyed and scornfully.

Kuroi walked up closer to him and looked at him apologetically with her big, golden eyes.

"... I'm sorry..." She apologized submissively.

Hibari held up a tonfa and prepared to teach her a lesson.

"Wait!" She pleaded.

"Hn?" He lowered his tonfa by a fraction.

Kuroi spontaneously pulled out a rag. She tugged on his sleeve and gestured for him to bend or kneel down. Reluctantly, he complied and kneeled down.

"What?" He asked irritably.

"Stay still."

"Wha-" Hibari went into a state of shock.

Kuroi had taken the rag and started cleaning off the crumbs over the right side of his face, much to his surprise.

"There. All better~" She sang.

Hibari shook his head and stood up abruptly. He turned around and headed back for the door.

"Where are you going?" Kuroi questioned innocently.

"I have to go bite a herbivore to death," He said as he walked out.

"Oh... Well what do I do?"

"... You can stay here or go to the Reception Room," He answered.

"Oh... Okay..." She watched him walk down the street. He was most likely going to meet with Dino to finish up his training.

Kuroi decided to head down to the school to hang around. She didn't want to be alone, after all.

When she got to the school, she searched around the classrooms to find Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto. Unfortunately for her though, they weren't there. Because of their absence and everyone's training, Kuroi felt alone and bored. Then, she remembered that the Music Room was unoccupied and Hibari wasn't here. A devious smile stretched across her face, and she sprinted off toward the Music Room.

Luckily, the hallways were clear, so she was able to go down the halls and not get flustered by the numerous amounts of people.

Kuroi approached the double doors to the Music Room. There was a note stuck to the door. As soon as Kuroi read it, her eyes widened and she fell to the ground. She read over the note again to make sure she wasn't mistaken. It read:

"To the students of Namimori Chuu~. On behalf of the Disciplinary Committee, the Music Room is off limits to all for reasons regarding past actions in the Music Room that lead to distractions throughout the school. Until told otherwise, anyone who enters will be severely punished by the Disciplinary Committee. If rule breaking continues, those who preformed such rebelling actions will ultimately be punished by none other than the Head Prefect of the Disciplinary Committee, Hibari Kyouya. You have been warned.

~Vice Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee, Kusakabe Tetsuya."

Kuroi couldn't believe what she was reading. Did Hibari wish to bore instead of bite her to death? What was so bad about preforming music? She was hurt rather deep. She knew that Hibari knew about how much she loved music. This just seem exceedingly cruel to her.

Kuroi slowly turned away from the double doors and headed back down the hall, sulking as she did so. She returned to the Reception Room and laid down on the comforting and inviting couch. Having nothing to do and no one to talk to, she drifted off to a quiet, sorrowful slumber.

* * *

Night had befallen Namimori and Kuroi was still asleep in the empty school. Loneliness and abandonment plagued her mind. She longed for someone to find her. She wanted to see a friend. Especially her family. ... And... Maybe even... Hibari.

_*BOOOOOOMMMM... CRACK-BOOOOOMMMMMM*_

Kuroi awoke instantly to a concussive sound of thunder. She looked toward the window and a flash of blinding lightning lit up the room. Looks like it's raining pretty hard. Kuroi sighed at this since she didn't have an umbrella, let alone a raincoat.

She looked at the clock on the wall and noticed it was a little bit past eleven o'clock.

*_BBOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM_*

Thunder shook the building. Flashes of lightning continued to light up the room.

*_BOOM_*

This sound was thunderous... But it gave off a different vibe. It seemed more like an explosion of sorts. It sounded as if it came from above. The roof, maybe?

Kuroi ventured out of the room and headed toward the stairs at the end of the hallway.

*_BOOM_*

Another explosion? Kuroi continued heading over torward the stairs. She walked up the numerous steps and went all the way up to the roof. Aside from the thunder and rain, she could hear familiar voices shouting in either horror or triumph as she got closer to the door that leads out to the roof. What was happening on the other side of that door?

"Lambo!"

Lambo...? Kuroi ran for the door and jerked it open. Before her very eyes, she witnessed Lambo be taken into the hands of a tall, idiotic-looking man and get electrified. Kuroi's eyes widened in horror. She ran straight out into the rain, not caring if she gets wet, and focused in on saving Lambo.

"Lambo!" She cried out for him.

"Nah- Sora!?" She could hear Gokudera's raspy voice.

"Sora-chan! Kuroi!" Tsuna and Yamamoto shouted in unison.

Kuroi didn't pay any attention to them, though. She was too intent on saving Lambo.

"No, wait! Don't enter the battlefield!" Ryohei reached an arm out toward her, gesturing to stop her.

But, it was too late; she'd already entered the hazardous battlegrounds.

"Mmuu~, isn't that the little girl from last night?" The hooded baby asked.

"VVOOOIIIII! Why is that little brat on the battlefield!?" Squalo took a step forward.

As the tall brute continued to electrocute Lambo, he paid no attention to Kuroi running full speed up to him.

"Let him go!" She demanded as fiercely as she could.

"Hmm?" He glanced at her.

Kuroi hooked onto his leg and started punching and pinching him, causing him to drop Lambo.

"What the hell are you doing, you stupid brat!?" He tried to shake her off.

Kuroi wouldn't give up, however, and she started biting him.

"You f*ck*ng brat!" He grabbed her by the hair and pried her off, tossing her to the side, after.

"Sora-chan!" Tsuna exclaimed.

She quickly got up and ran over to Lambo.

"Leave him alone!" She repeated once more, "Leave him alone, you-... What the heck are you!?"

Everyone blinked at her question.

"Wha-what!?" He asked.

"You look so gross! Don't look at me! You look like a gorilla on steroids- no- you look more like a troll or an ogre with more deformities than usual! You look like you got your face caught in a wood chipper or a combine. You look like you got your face run over by a train at top speed. Leave us alone, and don't come closer! I'll catch your ugliness! You're icky; stay back!" Kuroi shouted many insults, leaving everyone in utter shock and confusion.

Most of everyone's mouths were gaping open. Most of the Varia were snickering and laughing. Tsuna and his group would've laughed if they weren't in such a serious situation.

"Why-..! You little brat!" The man stomped over to her.

"Stay back!" Kuroi ordered seriously. She was not afraid of him, but she knew that she could not beat him in any sort of physical fight.

The man she disliked and heavily insulted continued coming closer. When he got close enough, he raised a hand to smack her down to the ground.

"Stay back...! Or... Or... GO TO HELL!" She screamed, taking a step closer to him and extended out her right hand, making contact with him.

Instantly, once he recieved her touch, red and black flames jutted out of her ring on her right hand profusely. The flames encompassed her hand and swirled around it vibrantly and violently before quickly receding back into the ring. As soon as the flames fully retreated back into the ring, they produced a loud, concussive sound and instantaneously sent a shockwave into the brute's stomach, knocking him flat down to the ground a ways away from her and Lambo.

Silence was all that played. Voices were, and remained, unheard. No one dared to speak. Kuroi was speechless, as well, for a few moments. She had no idea what she just did. When she gathered back her thoughts and looked up, the man was too close for comfort. He took her by the throat, sending electric volts throughout her body. Intense pain spreaded all around her, prompting Kuroi to scream in pain.

"Sora!" Gokudera, Yamamoto and Ryohei ran after her and Lambo.

"Wait. If you enter the battlefield, you will all be disqualified," Reborn reminded them.

"No way... But, Kuroi isn't even part of this!" Yamamoto protested.

"Can't we at least get her out of there!?" Ryohei questioned urgently as the brute continued electrocuting Kuroi.

"No. Beause she is on neither side, let alone possessing a Half Vongola Ring, she is now part of the battlefield as punishment for trespassing and interfering," A woman with pink hair explained.

"WHAT!?" Gokudera was entirely furious.

"That's not fair! She didn't know!" Yamamoto retorted.

"It is already decided. If you interfere, as well, your rings will be confiscated and given to the opposing team," The second pink-haired woman said.

"Shit!"

"What do we do!?" Ryohei asked.

Meanwhile, during their intense discussion, Kuroi wasn't going to last much longer with all the ectricity running through her veins. She was about to lose all consciousness.

Suddenly, she felt relief. The volts stopped penetrating into her body, and she collapsed to the floor. She opened her eyes to only see a blur of the rooftop and everyone there.

*CRASH*

She could make out the large tendrils and poles lying on the floor that caused a loud noise resembling something crashing to the ground. Kuroi looked to her left; she could see three orange blurs that suspiciously resembled flames.

"Tsuna..." She called out for him too faintly for anyone to hear.

"If I have to watch my friends die right before my eyes... I wouldn't be able to atone for it. No matter how many times I die."

This voice, it sounded like Tsuna... But, then again, it doesn't. It was much deeper than his normal voice. However, it sounded familiar like she's heard that voice before.

Kuroi tried to get up, but the pain was too intense. She was better off just lying there. She had to get up, though. She had to help Lambo. Kuroi moved toward Lambo while withstanding the pain she was in. Her vision was still a blur, but she could see far and well enough to pinpoint where Lambo was. She crawled toward him as fast as she could. When within reach, she extended her arm out for him, but she fell back down to the ground. Kuroi couldn't give up, yet. She continued to crawl until she was next to him. She picked Lambo up gently in her arms and checked for a pulse. His heart was thankfully still beating and he was faintly breathing. Relief sunk in around her, and she smiled knowing that Lambo was still alive.

Kuroi's eye lids started feeling heavy. She was exhausted and sore. The best thing for her to do would be to sleep. With Lambo still wrapped protectively around in her arms, she drifted off into an unconscious state.

...

"Lambo! Sora-chan!"

"Kuroi! Lambo, are you all right!"

"Stupid cow! And Sora, you idiot! What were you thinking!?"

Kuroi could hear all these voices running through her head. They echoed and remained there for her to constantly hear over, and over, and over again.

[END]

* * *

So,obviously, I got lazy and didn't want to write the very long battle and then have Xanxus come in and be a prick to everyone. Sorry about the long wait for the update. I didn't mean for it to be like ten days or so. I know this wasn't the most exciting chapter, but at least the story is getting updated, right?

Anyway, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Let me know in a review what you think and tell me your favorite part and (or) quote. Until next time, I will see you in the next update.

POOF!


	18. Returning

I feel like I haven't written a chapter for this story in months, but it's only been about two weeks. Anyway, can you guys let me know if Kuroi is too much of a Mary-Sue. I never took that into account when I created her character. If she is too much of something please let me know. Btw, I'm loving all of the reviews! None of them are negative in any way! It makes me so happy! And just a heads up, now, I am not doing the Storm Battle. I am doing what happens during the battle with Hibari and what happens when he returns.

Anyway, I hope you guys will like this chapter. So without further ado, here is chapter eighteen! Read or bananas shall rain from the sky and Kuroi will murder them all!

I do not own any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn, all rights go to Akira Amano except for the characters and things I have created.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Kuroi opened her eyes to reveal their golden color to the world presented before her. Blue sky acompanied with fluffy, white clouds and dark branches with leaves of variant shades of geen allowed small streams of sunlight to pass through lied in her field of vision as she laid on her back. She moved her arms around and felt a soft, yet sharp, sensation of grass. Confused by its touch and what remained nearly motionless in her sight, she sat up abruptly. Kuroi finally realized that she wasn't back in the Reception Room, but in a field of green, under a rather large tree.

_*BAM WHAM CLANG_*

Kuroi perked her head up a little, searching the area for the origin of the noise. It sounded as if it came from behind her. It also seemed to distinctly sound like that of an intense fight. She looked over toward the noise and found Dino training the demonic raven-haired.

Kuroi stood up and wandered over to the two brawlers, contemplating on how she got here. As she idly strode through the thick grass, Romario caught her attention. He was standing just a few yards away. She walked absenty-mindedly over toward him instead of heading over to her older guardian and the clumsy trainer.

"Good afternoon, Miss Kuroi," Romario greeted her with a smile.

"Where... Am I?" She asked him with her eyebrows raised in perplexity, "Er... Well.. Where are _we_?"

"We are just in the more country side of Namimori. Boss is training your friend there to adapt to any environment," He paraphrased with pride seeping through his words.

"But, how did I get here?" Kuroi pursued for an answer impatiently.

"Oh, well.. Your friends said that you were hurt pretty bad and passed out, so they took you to a hospital to get you fixed up. That's why you have those bandages there all over your body," He gestured to her arms, face and legs.

Kuroi observed herself and finally noticed all the bandages wrapped around her. She was wearing a loose, pale blue-tinted dress which went down passed her knees that the nurses probably put her in.

"What... Happened...?" She looked at her bandaged arms in horror.

"It's surprising and relieving that you survived. Not many people who are electrocuted at such a high voltage survive," Romario smiled sympatheticly.

"I was electrocuted..?"

"Yes. The Varia took a toll on you."

"I don't remember what happened last night..."

"Well, appearantly, the Battle for Thunder was ongoing and you entered the field to protect Lambo. Though, you were not allowed to. Lambo's opponent attacked you and as punishment for trespassing, the Cervello allowed the attacks on both you and Lambo to continue. That is, until Sawada Tsunayoshi interfered. He was able to save the both of you just in time before you would've reached death."

"But, how did I get here?"

Romario looked over at the other two who were still fighting, "Your, eh... Gaurdian over there didn't want you to be left alone in some place, to his definition, was.. _Insecure_. He didn't think it was safe enough for you, I believe. ... Haha, strange. I didn't think that kid would be concerned for anyone's wellbeing. I guess you're just special."

"Hibari brought me here?"

"Actually, I had someone bring you here. Those two are too busy training, and I couldn't leave Boss to get you, otherwise... It would be a mess. So, I asked one of the other Boss's subordinates to bring you here."

"Oh..." Kuroi was astonished that Hibari would go to such lengths to make sure she was safe. It was entirely unlike him.

She shifted her attention back over to Hibari. Her gaze was locked on him and she stared with intensity and shock.

Dino and Hibari paused for a moment. Feeling a familiar pair of eyes watching him, Hibari shifted his gaze over to Kuroi. She flinched and took a step back. Unsure as to why she moved, Kuroi looked down at her feet as if wondering if they had a mind of their own. Hibari on the other hand just smirked and looked back at Dino.

Kuroi walked back over to the tree she found herself under before. She gazed up the trunk of the tree and decided to investigate... By climbing it. Kuroi climbed to a high branch in the tree and watched the brawl from there. She sat back against the tree trunk and thought about the many things circling around in her mind: What was going through her mind last night? How did she survive? How was Lambo? Why is she really here? And most of all: what does Hibari really think of her? All these questions with confusing or no answers swooned in her head. It made her head hurt to the point where she started moaning in annoyance.

Kuroi looked away from the two training and set her sight upon the leaves and branches above her, trying to see the clouds through the thick greenery. She started dazing off into Wonderland, allowing time to pass by faster than it'd feel. Movement from her peripheral caught her attention. Dino and Hibari halted their attacks on one another and started walking over to Romario and Kuroi.

"I'm.. Just _*pant pant_*... Taking a *_pant pant_* ...short break," Dino seemed pretty exhausted. How long have they been training?

"Hn. Herbivore," Hibari insulted with distaste.

"Awe, c'mon, Kyouya!" Dino smiled, "I'm sure you're tired, as well!"

"..." Hibari didn't say anything and continued on toward the tree where Kuroi was hanging around in.

He sat down just below the high branch she was settled on. Hibari rose his arms and set them behind his head as a sort of support for his head while he leant up against the tree, closing his eyes to simulate sleep.

Kuroi hopped down to a lower branch to get closer. She continued climbing down. However one of the branches did not support her and, therefor, broke under her weight, letting her fall down to the ground.

*_BAM_*

Kuroi sat up and rubbed the back of head. She opened her eyes and found herself a little bit too close for comfort with the demon of Namimori. Kuroi felt off about the position she was in. It didn't feel like there was any grass under her. She looked off and down to the side and found that she fell on top of Hibari, much to her embarrassment. Kuroi slowly looked back at Hibari and took in his expression: it was a cold glare that did not seem to be inviting for anything friendly. He was not happy at all.

Embarrased, Kuroi was at a loss of words and couldn't look away from his icy glare.

"What are you doing, herbivore?" He asked with slight annoyance.

"... I-.. Um.. I.. Fell..." Kuroi didn't know what to say. She didn't want to say something that would totally set him off. It would make matters worse if she did, and Dino wouldn't have to much fun, either.

"Are you all right?" Bitterness complemented his scowl and harsh tone.

"Yes, but-... Wait- what?" Kuroi was confused as to why he would actually ask if she was fine. Thinking back on it, that was the first time he's ever been even the slightest curious or worried of her wellbeing. Strange...

"If you're fine, then get off," His eyes narrowed.

Kuroi flinched and hurriedly crawled off of him and sat with her side against the tree so that she faced away from Hibari. That way, he couldn't see her reddened face. She could feel his stare burn holes through her, but she didn't move a muscle.

She slowly turned back around to look at the raven-haired senior. He had his eyes closed again and didn't seem to acknowledge her anymore. Kuroi relaxed and turned her whole body around to face him. She leaned in closer to him and waved her hand in front of his face. He didn't move. Kuroi retracted her hand and assumed he was asleep. She looked up and saw a couple of leaves settled on top of Hibari's head. She reached up slowly to brush them off. When she was about to grab the leaves, a familiar voice froze her.

"What are you doing?"

Kuroi looked down and noticed Hibari glaring at her out of the corners of his eyes.

"Um... You have leaves in your.. Hair," Kuroi quickly grabbed the leaves and showed him, "See?"

Hibari stared at her and the leaves. He diverted his attention from her and with a grunt, he closed his eyes to go back to sleep. That is if he really was sleeping...

"Neh~ ... Hibari..?"

"Hn?" He grunted.

"I'm sorry for... Falling on you," Kuroi hesitated to speak.

Hibari opened his eyes and glanced at her.

"It's fine," He managed to say without moaning in annoyance.

"Did I hurt you?" She questioned with innocence.

"No," He sighed.

"Are you sure?" Kuroi asked again, being genuinely worried for him.

"Yes. I'm fine," He mumbled.

"... Are you-"

Hibari abruptly covered his hand over her mouth and stared her straight on in the eyes.

"Yes. I'm sure," His voice was more stern yet it still had a sense of calmness to it.

"S-Sorry..." Kuroi retracted herself away from the raven-haired staring intensly and threatening at her.

Hibari pulled back and sighed, leaning back up against the tree once again. Kuroi puy on a thoughtful face and tilted her head to the side a little.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari]_

Hibari took in a deep breath and sighed, letting out all of his frustration. He was getting pretty bored of fighting Dino and seemed more concerned about the school. He hadn't been there in so long, he needed to know if nothing happened to the school and if everything was still in order. The more he thought about the school, the more frustrated and worried he'd get.

*_THUD_*

Something heavy landed softly on his left thigh. Hibari opened his left eye and looked down. Kuroi was laying there, facing away from him. He thought about scolding her and shoving her off, but he was too exhausted and he didn't want her to start talking again. He just didn't want to mingle. Although, he really wasn't too keen on physical contact that was something other than fighting.

Too lazy to do anything about her, he didn't move and allowed her stay there. He looked her over and took note of all the bandages wrapped around her limbs and probably her body (any part under the dress). It reminded him of what happened to her: this time being electrocution. Hibari found that whenever she was not in his sight, she would end up hurting herself or putting herself in exceedingly dangerous situations, like back at Kokuyou Land.

If things continued like this, Hibari would fail his _"assignment"._ This didn't suit him at all, and it made him even more frustrated than before. He did not want to fail. Though, it wasn't for Kuroi's sake, it was mainly for his own: he wishes to defeat Reborn in a brawl. Reborn, that baby, interested him and got his blood boiling for a fight. He needed to be successful in order to fight against him. So, caring for Kuroi maybe the only way to go.

However, there was a part of him that said otherwise. For some reason, he felt attached to her. Even if it was just hanging on by a thread, there was some sort of connection between himself and this odd girl. He had a need in the very back of his mind that told him to protect her out of instinct. It was too strange for him to comprehend. Every time he'd see her, he felt the need to feel relief or content. He didn't have an emotion of annoyance or hindrance as much as he use to. The only time he would feel a different emotion, is when he'd see her in a state of distress. Oddly enough to him, he would feel the need to protect or avenge. He would want those who wronged her to suffer his wrath.

All of this was too perplexing for Hibari to handle. All he knew for sure was that he wanted her close to him. He did not want her to leave his sight. He needed her to be close, and for more than one reason: One being that he'd have an easier time keeping track of her. Two, it would be easier on him keeping her safe so that he would be able to fight Reborn. Lastly... It felt instinctual to have her with him at all times, much to his surprise...

Hibari's head started to hurt. To relieve his stress, he decided that it was time to go back to the school to make sure things were in order. It was getting pretty dark, anyway, and it would take at least a few hours or more to get back to the school.

Hibari touched Kuroi's shoulder, "Get up. We're leaving."

"Hmm?" She looked at him dazed, "Why?"

"I'm tired," He stated with zero enthusiasm and with one hundred percent bluntness.

Kuroi got up lazily while Hibari got up more abrupt and imediatley headed off in the school's direction.

"O-Oi! Kyouya, where are you going!?" Dino stepped in front of him.

"I'm going back," Hibari said as he walked around him.

Kuroi on the other hand hadn't moved until she realized Hibari was going back to the school. She remembered that the battles were being held there. If he returns now while they are still in progress, he may not be too happy and things could turn for the worse.

As Hibari continued walking, he felt a tug at his sleeve. He stopped and looked back, noticing Kuroi holding him back so he couldn't leave.

"Let's go," He ushered her to move forward.

She seemed hesitant but reluctantly moved anyway. Kuroi wasn't the only one hesitant, though. Dino was still deciding on whether or not to follow.

Hibari continued walking with Kuroi lagging far behind. He noticed her lack of close presence and turned around. He waited for to catch up. When she did, she looked up at him and smiled nervously. Hibari narrowed his eyes.

"What?"

"Uh-um.. Nothing, hehe," Kuroi still seemed to act a bit nervous.

"Then, let's go," He strode past her.

"But, it's so far..." She whined.

Hibari stopped and sighed to himself.

"I don't want to walk that far.." Kuroi continued.

He turned around and walked back over to her, stopping dead center in front of the child.

He bent down close to her, "Let's go."

In one swift movement, Hibari picked her up over his shoulders and carried her down the field.

* * *

It was pretty late by the time they reached the school. It was probably past eleven at night.

"We're here."

"Huh, what?" Kuroi appeared to have fallen asleep on his shoulders after that extremely long walk.

Hibari sat her down on the ground and proceeded to walk inside. Upon entering, something felt off. The atmosphere was quite different. Suddenly, Hibari felt a threatening presence. He looked to the side and saw a tall man in all black charging at him with some sort of... Sword-shaped umbrella?

The man swung at Hibari, who then ducked and countered, leaving the man unconscious.

"All trespassers and violators of school rules will be bitten to death," Hibari stated firmly to no one in particular.

"Hibari...?"

Hibari shifted his gaze and fixated it on Kuroi. She seemed.. Concerned. Hibari narrowed his eyes, but not in annoyance.

"C'mon," He gestured for her to follow.

Kuroi walked up to him and held onto his shirt's sleeve. He looked at her through the corners of his eyes and proceeded down the hallway.

As they went down the hall, there were several more intruders. Whom of which all wore the same thing: black. Hibari would beat them senseless and carry on as if he'd only taken out the trash.

The two heard commotion coming from upstairs. It sounded as if there was where the most intruders were on only the third floor alone.

After they reached the third floor, they heard more voices. Some of them were particularly familiar.

Hibari knocked down his presumably last victim and entered the intersection of the hallway. To his right were the familiar, crowding herbivores. However, to his left were seven unfamilliar faces.

"Hibari-san!" Tsuna was relieved, yet horrified since he might get bitten to death.

Kuroi peered from behind his legs.

"Nah-! Sora-chan!? What're you doing here!?" Tsuna exclaimed.

Kuroi looked at him and then at Hibari. She stepped closer, moving to where she practically molded to Hibari's leg.

"VVVOOOIIIIIII! Isn't that the little brat you fried yesterday, Levi?" The white-haired sneered.

"Looks like you didn't do a very good job," The hooded baby added.

"What!? Shut up! I'll kill that little brat right now if I have to!" Levi started walking forward.

"Hn. So you're the one who attacked her?" Hibari rose a tonfa.

"She must've been with Hibari all this time instead of resting at the hospital," Gokudera deduced.

Hibari felt Kuroi's grip loosen. He glanced behind him for only a second and watched her run over to the bomb expert resting up against the wall.

"Are you all right, Hayato?" Kuroi sat on the ground next to him with concern written all over her face.

"Uh-... Y-Yeah.. I'm fine," He said sheepishly.

"Unlawfully breaking into the school and, moreover, vandalizing the premises, by reason of joint responsibility, everyone here will be bitten to death," Hibari held up his tonfas.

"What!? Us too!?" Gokudera was surprised.

As Levi continued moving forward, he spoke in a harsh tone, "So, you're the one who brought down all my subordinates."

"You are one of the ring-holders allied with Sawada Tsunayoshi's group? If so, this kind of behavior is..." The pink-haired women was not allowed to finish.

"Out of my way, Cervello. That bastard is just a common trespasser!" Levi took out two parabolas that summoned electricity and charged Hibari.

However, Hibari just side-stepped and tripped the brute, letting him fall flat on his face.

"Then I'll start with you."

Suddenly, Kuroi jumped onto Levi's back and started pulling his hair and punching him in the face.

While assaulting Levi, she screamed, "YOU STUPID, NO GOOD, IDIOT WITH A BRAIN THE SIZE OF AN ANT! YOU DUMBFOUNDED, KING OF DEFORMITIES! THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR HURTING LAMBO AND FOR TRYING TO KILL ME! YOU UGLY OGRE! YOU LOOK LIKE YOU GOT DUNKED IN ACID! YOU'RE SO UGLY, THAT PEOPLE PUT A PICTURE OF YOU IN THEIR CAR WINDOWS SO THAT THINGS WON'T GET STOLEN FROM IT! YOU'RE SO UGLY, PEOPLE WENT AS YOU FOR HALLOWEEN! YOU'RE SO UGLY, YOU MAKE BLIND CHILDREN CRY! YOU'RE SO UGLY, THAT YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE CONTAINED AN APOLOGY LETTER FROM A CONDOM FACTORY! YOU'RE SO UGLY THAT AFTER YOU WERE BORN, YOUR MOTHER SAID, 'WHAT A TREASURE!' AND YOUR FATHER SAID, 'YES, LET'S GO BURRY IT! YOU'RE SO UGLY THAT-"

"Okay, okay~~ I think you made your point, Kuroi-chan," Yamamoto sweat-dropped and picked her up off of Levi.

Everyone was surprised by Kuroi's sudden actions and her relentless insults.

"That stupid brat! I'll kill her!" Levi started to get up.

"You harm her, you'll answer to me," Hibari stepped in between the two.

"VVVOOOOIIIIII! So, how many times should I slash you open!?" The white-haired interjected.

"Hnn. Are you next?" Hibari's sadistic smirk stretched across his face.

"Please stop fighting. If Gaurdians enter into unregulated brawls, they will be disqualified," The pinks explained.

"Okay, okay. Calm down, Hibari. I know you're angry, but-" Yamamoto was interupted.

"You're in the way. Don't stand in front of me," Hibari swung at Yamamoto with his tonfas, but he was able to dodge and stop him.

"That long-hair is my opponent. Please be patient a little while longer," Yamamoto smiled sheepishly.

Hibari on the other hand was entirely unhappy, "If you're going to get in the way, I don't care who you are, I'll bite you to death."

"Stop it!"

Hibari blinked and noticed Kuroi intercepting him from reaching Yamamoto.

"Don't get in my way," Hibrai narrowed his eyes at her.

"No! I won't let you hurt my friends!" Kuroi was more serious than usual.

"She actually defied Hibari-san...!" Tsuna was in fear that anyone would be able to stand up to him like that.

"Get out of the way."

"No!"

"Move."

"No!"

Losing his patience, Hibari rose his tonfa to hit her.

"Hibari! Please don't, Hibari-dono! Hibari-san!" The group chorused.

Kuroi remained unfazed and prepared for the pain.

"Ciaossu, Hibari."

Hibari immediately halted his attack, "The baby? Sorry, but I'm busy at the moment."

"Although it's fine if you let loose here, you might lose an even greater chance to enjoy yourself," Reborn started to persuade him.

"A greater chance...?"

"It's not immediately possible, but if you bear with it now and participate in the battles for the rings, you might be able to fight Rokudo Mukuro again in the near-future."

Both Hibari and Kuroi froze at this. Hibari seemed pleased with the notion, but Kuroi was unhappy and unsettled about it. It worried her deeply.

"Hnn, really..." Hibari turned to face the pink-haired twins, "All the damage to the schools buildings must be repaired."

"Yes. We, the Cervello, will be responsible for that."

"Is that so..." Hibari thought about it for a second and then changed direction to start heading out, "I've changed my mind."

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Kuroi watched Hibari as he strode past her and Yamamoto. A sorrowful look plagued her expression. She was upset at the fact that he still wants to fight Mukuro, and she was confused by his previous actions: would Hibari actually strike her like that with a spiked weapon and not care...? She felt uneasy being around him now. It was unclear to her if he would ever do it again. But, what was more disconcerting, was the fact that she no longer understands her relationship with the raven-haired teen.

"Don't lose to the one over there before my turn comes around," He ordered Yamamoto, "See you."

"Hibari-san, he... Stopped fighting..." Tsuna said in confusion and awe.

"From this alone, you can see the depth of the humiliation Hibari feels he's suffered at Mukuro's hands. Though... I'm sure there's more to it than that..." Reborn explained as he observed Kuroi watching Hibari walk down the hall.

Hibari got halfway down the hallway before he turned to check to see if Kuroi was there. She was still planted in the same spot as he left her. He made a gesture for her to come. Abiding his order, Kuroi walked back down the hall, giving a goodbye glance at Tsuna and the others.

Hibari waited for her at the end of the staircase. When she finally caught up to him, he turned to her with a scowl.

"Don't ever defy me again, or I'll bite you to death. And next time, I won't hold back," He threatened.

Kuroi was unfazed by his threat and watched Hibari continue down the hallway toward the front entrance. Kuroi felt ashamed for disobeying him, but she knew she did the right thing.

Kuroi sighed and ran to catch up to him. When she did, she put on a smile and hooked her arms around one of his.

"You shouldn't attack those who wish to help you, let alone your friends," She grinned at him.

"I don't have, nor need, _'friends'_," He claimed.

"I know. You're a lone wolf... However, you're not as alone as you might think you are. No matter what, in realty, you'll never be alone."

Hibari blinked in confusion and looked down at the small girl. Although he hated to admit it, deep down, he knew she was right... Though, he didn't like knowing that.

[END]

* * *

OMG IM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN SO LONG! This chapter took me three days to finish! It normally only takes me one. I kept procrastinating and I apologize for that!

Anyway, leave a review and tell me your favorite part and (or) quote. Until next time I will see you in the next update!

POOF!


	19. Swordsmanship

So sorry for such late update. I've been so busy with school lately and I absolutely hate it! I wish that I could just come up with a chapter in under a minute... That would be a miracle. Anyway, I believe I left off with Kuroi and Hibari leaving the aftermath of the Storm Battle. So, next is obviously the Rain Battle. Yyyaaayyyy. If my writing skills seem to be lacking and they're more errors than usual, it's because I'm exhausted... I can tell you right now, I have nothing planned for the chapter because we all know that Hibari hangs out on the roof this whole time during this next battle. So... I'm gonna improvise and come up with something random as I go through the chapter. Be prepared.

Here is chapter nineteen after about twenty days of putting it off... I hope you enjoy.

I do not own any of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. All rights go to Akira Amano except for the characters and things I've created.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]_

Last night was a bit hectic and troublesome for both Kuroi and Hibari. Kuroi still felt a bit hesitant to talk to him considering her rebellious act last night. She still remained with her guilt for disobeying, so she felt the necessity to make it up to him. Although she did hint to him that she considered herself close to him, she wasn't too sure if he got the message or not. In a way, she could sense the fact that their relationship was a bit off that night; it was fine, and then it dropped, only to rise back up again.

Kuroi wondered the halls of Namimori Chuu~- Hibari's kingdom she calls it- and questioned herself on what she should do to make up for her past actions.

Wandering around for what seemed like hours was merely minutes, she eventually ran into the very person she was thinking about.

"What are you doing, Herbivore?" A scowl panned across his face.

Hiding her previous attitude, she spoke with a smile to her superior, "Neh~ Hibari? Can I call you something else besides your name?"

"Hmm...? What are you talking about?" Hibari eyed her with contemptuous eyes.

"Nevermind," she sang and took a few steps away from him, back down from which she came," ... Onii-chan!"

"Hn?" He turned sharply at her, prompting Kuroi to dart down the hall.

When she was out of sight, Hibari "tch-ed" and continued walking down the corridors of which he patrolled.

Kuroi ran down the halls-laughing as she did so- all the way to the Reception Room. When she opened the door, she thought she'd lost him and triumphantly jumped onto the couch to lay down. However, when she landed, she knew this was no couch and instantly stopped smiling and went wide-eyed.

"Get off."

A voice from under her was heard, causing her to jump quickly.

"But- weren't you..- you were just...- but how could..-" Kuroi babbled in confusion, "How did you get here before me?"

"You're slow."

Kuroi walked back over slowly toward the once sleeping demon that was now presently awake.

"If you jump on me again, herbivore, I will bite you to death," Hibari threatened with narrowed eyes.

Kuroi was trying to suppress a smile, but couldn't help it.

"Also, don't ever call me _that_ again," He continued his threat, "I am not related to you in any way, so it is unnecessary and improper."

"Fine," She pouted.

There was a long silence consisting of Hibari staring her down. Feeling uncomfortable, Kuroi fidgeting in the very spot she stood.

Becoming entirely uncomfortable, she looked at him with perspiration dripping down her face and yelled, "What!?"

"... What're you wearing?" He questioned her with narrowed eyes and distaste.

Kuroi looked down at her outfit: a rather large, white dress-shirt that was obviously way to big for her. The sleeves went down past her finger tips and the collar was unkept (due to her frantic running) and stuck up a little bit past the earlobes of her ears. She had denim shorts on underneath, which was hidden under the shirt, and black dress shoes. (Kuroi wasn't really ever one for good fashion sense...)

Kuroi looked back up to Hibari with a confused expression, "What's wrong with it?"

"... That is mine, isn't it?" He pointed at her chest.

Kuroi looked around nervously, "Wwhhhhaaaatttt? I don't know what you're talking about?"

"That is my shirt, isn't it?" He repeated.

"... Maybe..." Kuroi said with shifty eyes.

Hibari narrowed his eyes to near slits (if that were possible considering how narrowed they already were) and leaned in a tad closer to her, "Why are you wearing my clothes?"

"Weeeelllll..." She looked away from him.

"Answer me," He leaned in more.

Under much pressure, Kuroi finally gave in and slumped to the ground, waving her arms around while flapping the long sleeves everywhere, "I'm sorry! But, it's so sooofft! The material is just so sooooofft!"

"You have your own clothes. Don't wear mine, or I will bite you to death."

With that said, Hibari laid back down on the couch and drifted off to sleep yet again. Kuroi remained on the floor with her eyes locked on him. She wasn't sure if she should say something or just remain sitting there the whole time. She crawled over to Hibari and slowly rose her hand in front of his face.

"What are you doing?" Hibari asked without even opening his eyes to see what she was doing.

Kuroi shot back her hand and looked around as if nothing happened.

"I don't know what you're talking about," She obviously lied.

"Can't you just go to sleep, or at least be quiet and not disturb me?" He questioned with an annoyed tone hinted in his voice.

Abiding by his question, though it seemed to be more of a statement, Kuroi got up and sat down on the other couch and remained absolutely quiet for the rest of the day. Though, there were few occasions where she'd make noise. But for the most part, she was more silent than usual.

* * *

_[3rd Person Limited: Hibari]_

It was getting closer to sundown when Hibari finally decided to get up. When he got up, he stretched, and yawned and looked over across the room to see a small, frail girl curled up in a ball, sleeping on the other couch. Hibari stood up and walked over to her. Looking over her, he noticed that Kuroi seemed to be very tense, though he didn't know why nor did he really care. He acknowledged it, sure, but it wasn't something that would alarm him.

Ignoring her state, he leaned down and placed a hand firmly on her small shoulder.

"Get up," He commanded her with little to no emotion.

Waking up abruptly, Kuroi flung her body upright. Because she got up too fast, she didn't notice Hibari looming over her, so she ended up knocking heads with him. Unfased by her headbutt, Hibari dismissed the slight pain and blinked at her.

"Ooooowwwwww... That hurt..." She whined in pain.

Ignoring her cries of agony, Hibari sighed slightly and repeated himself, "Get up. Let's go."

"Huh? Where?" Kuroi was perplexed as to why he wanted her to get up so suddenly.

"The roof," He answered as bluntly as possible.

"Why are we going to the roof?" Kuroi slowly stood up from the couch. She still felt a bit dizzy from the head bashing with Hibari. It was bad enough to where she was not able to walk in a straight line.

Being impatient as he is, Hibari took her by the arm and basically dragged her all the way up to the roof. Although, he wanted to be completely rough with her and literally drag her up the stairs to the third floor and up more stairs to the roof, Hibari had the feeling to not do that and to be somewhat gentle with her. It's as if he had a maternal instinct to keep her out of trouble and unharmed. Or in his case, not as harmed.

When Hibari finally opened the door to the roof, it was pitch black outside with the exception of the school's emergency lights lighting few areas. He pushed her out onto the roof. Since she was still dizzy, Kuroi spun around a bit before falling.

"Stop.. Making the world spin... Oni-bari!" Kuroi spat out with her eyes spinning.

"'_Oni-bari_'? What's with that...?" Hibari questioned feeling entirely insulted.

"Well.. You're the.. School demon..." She managed to say while trying to process her thoughts.

"Hn? Is that so? Well, if you say that again, I will bite you to death, Herbivore," he leaned in over Kuroi, covering her in his shadow so that the moonlight could not touch her, "I despise those who insult me. Do you understand?"

"Heheheh.. Y-yes!" Kuroi couldn't help but laugh.

Becoming rather badgered by her behavior, Hibari sighed and walked over to a water tower. Gazing upon its size and height, he decided to go ahead and climb it, thinking that it may be a nice relaxation spot.

"H-Hibari...! What are you doing!?" Kuroi shouted in confusion.

Hibari didn't answer. Instead, he just kept on climbing until he reached the top. Hibari sat on top of the water tank and allowed the cool breeze to brush against his pale skin. Content on finally having peace and quiet, he felt that he was still missing something. Of what, he didn't know.

Hibari glanced down at Kuroi and noticed her sullen expression. He watched her walk over to the railing of the fence and gaze out over the distance. Tilting his head to the side out of annoyance and minimal curiosity, he decided to only pry a little.

"Yoh, Herbivore..." at the sound of his voice, Kuroi turned and looked at him out of the corners of her eyes, "Your pathetic behavior is troublesome. If your weak behavior continues, it'll infuriate me."

"... What's that supposed to mean?" She had an extremely confused expression, "I'm not that weak!"

"Hn? Is that so? Then, prove it," Hibari grinned with malice.

"Huh? Um... But, how?" Kuroi was utterly discombobulated, "How am I supposed to prove I'm strong to you? You think everything is weaker than you! Of course I'm weaker than you because of my age. I can only do so much and you have more experience, so how do I prove that I'm not weak!?"

"Oh? So you're already admitting defeat?" He smirked maliciously, "Only weak herbivores would submit to defeat so quickly."

"I am not a weak herbivore!" Kuroi stomped a foot as she spoke, "I'll prove it! I am NOT a weak herbivore! I'll make you eat those words!"

Hibari watched her as she tried to climb the water tower with little success. He thought of it as amusing as he watched such a frail, small, weak girl climb up to where he was. Would it even be possible for her to make it? Hibari couldn't fathom that she'd ever be able to make it. She was too much of a... Well.. A herbivore. Nothing much about her except the fact that she had uncontrollable... Power? Is that the term he should use? Either way, whether she was weak or not, she still seemed to captivate his attention. This, of course, confused him. Why should he care for her or even acknowledge her. She's nothing special, really. Nothing at all. And yet... He has this newly formed tendency to just even watch over her. But for what reason: he doesn't know. It could be assumed that Hibari is growing attached to the little nuisance. Though...he isn't very fond of the thought.

Surprisingly enough, Kuroi somehow did make it to the top.

"I... *_pant_* ... Told you.. *_pant pant_*... I'd make it..." She gasped for air as she laid next to Hibari who only stared at her in slight disbelief.

"So you did..." He admitted with reluctance.

As he remained fixated on Kuroi, something bright caught his attention and diverted it over toward a building that seemed to have a rather large monitor on one side. Below it, people started gathering around and watched the screen. Hibari couldn't really hear what everyone said since he was so far away, but he knew that they were about to preform another battle.

Hibari felt a small hand grip at his arm. Diverting his attention from the bright screen, he looked over at the small child. Kuroi was still panting and looked as if she had something to say, but instead, she just collapsed on him.

"You're..." she lifted her hand and pointed at him, "a meaner..."

Kuroi's hand fell back down and she laid on his lap panting. Hibari looked down at her as she rested on him, heavily breathing but still awake. Somehow, he wasn't entirely annoyed by her behavior. A part of him didn't mind her resting the way she was.

Turning his attention back to the screen, Hibari could see that it was Yamamoto Takeshi's turn to fight. Wanting to make sure that Yamamoto didn't lose before his fight, he remained fixated on the jumbo screen. He may seem half-interested, which he was, but at least he was showing some form of attentiveness.

He watched the two adversaries fight in what used to be classrooms was now a giant water tank. Yamamoto was a bit uneasy and slightly panicked as the white-haired charged him. At the last second, Yamamoto was able to preform a special move that lifted columns of water into the air to obscure his image. His attacker sliced through the water, but was unable to hit his target.

"Neh~ Hibari?"

Hibari glanced down at the exhausted child.

"Why are you here? I thought you had training with Mr. Dino..." Kuroi questioned with her eyes half shut.

"I want to make sure they repair the damage done to the school," Hibari admitted.

"Why are so hung up on the school?" Kuroi asked and then chuckled a bit, "If you love it so much why don't you marry it!?"

Hibari glared down at her, "Keep quiet and stop using such cliche phrases, or I'll bite you to death."

Kuroi reduced her laugh to a mere giggle. Trying so hard to keep her laughter down, she kicked her legs around, stomping on the water tower, and bit her tongue. All the while, Hibari watched her with distaste and annoyance. His facial expression easily read _"make it stop"_ or _"I'm going to kill her"._ He was on the verge of just pushing her over the edge and watch her fall to the roof. However, he knew that if he did that, he'd get in trouble with Reborn and won't be able to fight him. Clenching his fists, he sighed and continued watching Yamamoto and the loud, white-haired guy fight.

Yamamoto didn't seem to be doing so well: his eye was injured and his arm was just recently paralyzed. His sword wasn't even much of a weapon anymore; it was back to a bamboo sword that was meant for kendo. All Yamamoto could do was run and dodge while his opponent ranted and insulted him.

Kuroi settled down from her laughter and decided to watch the fight as well.

Yamamoto was repeatedly and rapidly being attacked and jabbed by the man's sword, causing him to recieve many wounds. When the white-haired was done, Yamamoto fell to the floor, unable to move.

The man taunted Yamamoto and after a short conversation, he stood back up and raced for fallen debree to jump on to so that he could make his way back up to the level that his opponent was on. Inviting Yamamoto to fight, the man raised his sword. Yamamoto charged him, prompting the long-haired to do the same. Anticipating the inferior's next move, the white-haired man was surprised when Yamamoto swung his sword in an attack that was the complete opposite of what he was expecting. Taking a hit by the blunt end of the sword, the man flung over Yamamoto and landed in the water on his back.

"Go Takeshi!" Kuroi shouted with her fists clenched and in the air.

Hibari grunted a little and shoved her arms back down, "Stop it."

"But, I'm just cheering for a friend," Kuroi pouted, "You should be cheering for him, too!"

"I have no reason to cheer," Hibari frowned at her.

"Yes you do! He's your friend! And deep down inside, I'm pretty sure you want to shout out to him as well," Kuroi did not believe anything he said.

Sighing and not wanting to continue a pointless argument, Hibari returned back to the fight.

Yamamoto was positioned in a stance that one would only use for baseball. The man charged at him again, sweeping all the water with his sword out of his way as he sprinted toward him. With a swift move of the blade, Yamamoto conjured up water columns and was able to dodge the long-haired man's attack. Unfortunately, the man turned around and headed straight toward Yamamoto again. He swung at the teen and pushed him back. As the man continued running, Yamamoto appeared behind him out of the water. Reacting to this, the man's hand extended and bent backwards, revealing that his arm was mechanical, and stabbed Yamamoto straight through the chest. Unfortunately for the white-haired, the male teen dissolved into water- being a fake from the very beginning it first appeared. The real Yamamoto then appeared and slammed the blunt end of the blade down on top of the man's head, letting him fall to the ground. In the end, Yamamoto received the other half of the ring and therefor won the match.

The Cervello went to talk to the Varia while Yamamoto tried to carry the white-haired man out of the battlefield. However, on the screen Hibari could vaguely see a large shark in the risen water. There was no possible way for them both to escape unharmed. The shark hit the pillar supporting their platform and sent them crumbling down to the shark's level. The man kicked Yamamoto out of the way just in time to avoid becoming shark food. The white-haired, however, did not move and invited the shark, allowing himself to be attacked and taken below the surface of the water. Never seen again...

* * *

[3rd Person Limited: Kuroi]

That was it? That was the end? Kuroi couldn't fathom how such a battle could have such a horrid ending. Squalo was gone now. Just like that? All she could hear now was the sound of disturbing, utter silence.

The monitor changed and one of the Cervello appeared.

"The victory for the scramble battle for the ring of Rain goes to Yamamoto Takeshi," she said, "Then, we will announce tomorrow night's battle. The next battle will be between the...

"Guardians of Mist."

The Guardians of Mist... Just hearing those words sent chills up Kuroi's spine for some reason. She felt a familiar presence in the area, as well. It was an all too familiar presence. One that she hated most. One that has caused her so much pain, misery and suffering. One that she never wanted to see again...

[END]

* * *

OMFG! It's been too fricking long since I've updated. I am so damn sorry! I know you guys have been waiting for me to update this for weeks or even months! I know, I still need to update Instability.. I will get to that next. Please remember, if I ever want to discontinue this story, I will post a "chapter" stating that this story is no longer being continued. But I doubt that will happen since I am going to finish it. I just take too damn long because of fricking school! Being a junior is hard in high school...

Anyway, hope you liked it. I will still be updating no matter what. Let me know in a review about what you think and what your favorite part and (or) quote is. I guarantee you will LLLOOOOOVVVEEEE the next chapter as you may know Kuroi and Mukuro's past *hint hint*... This should be very interesting.

Now remember, I will always see you in the next update!

POOF!


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